The world of work is changing quickly. Artificial intelligence, digital transformation, climate change, and evolving industries are changing the skills that workers need to succeed. At the same time, countries are looking for better ways to connect education, training, employment, and economic opportunity.
Against this backdrop, BRICS cooperation on skills, vocational education, qualifications, and employment is becoming increasingly important.
Recent BRICS initiatives have placed technical and vocational education and training (TVET), skills development, mutual recognition of qualifications, worker reskilling, and labour mobility closer to the centre of cooperation. These efforts could help countries create stronger pathways from learning to employment while making it easier for skilled people to adapt to changing labour markets.
Why Skills Are Becoming a BRICS Priority
BRICS countries have large and diverse labour forces, but they also face common challenges. Employers need new technical and digital skills, while many workers need opportunities to reskill or upskill as industries change.
The BRICS Education Working Group has identified areas such as technical and professional training, digital transformation, research and innovation, and mutual recognition of qualifications as important areas for cooperation.
This matters because skills do not exist in isolation. A qualification becomes more valuable when it connects a person to real employment opportunities and remains relevant across changing industries.
Therefore, cooperation between countries can help create stronger links between skills, qualifications, employment, and mobility.
BRICS Strengthens Technical and Vocational Education Cooperation
One of the most significant developments came in 2025 with the formal establishment of the BRICS Technical and Vocational Education and Training Cooperation Alliance (BRICS-TCA).
The alliance was initially proposed in 2022 and was formally established in 2025. Its objective is to encourage the exchange of information, policies, and best practices among BRICS countries while strengthening cooperation between TVET institutions.
The 2025 BRICS Education Joint Declaration also highlighted the importance of connecting TVET with other stages of education and expanding equitable participation. It specifically identified women, rural populations, people with disabilities, migrants, underrepresented groups, and local communities among those who should have access to TVET opportunities.
This represents an important shift. Vocational education is increasingly being viewed not simply as an alternative education pathway, but as an important part of economic development and workforce preparation.
From Skills Development to Greater Mobility
Skills cooperation can also support labour mobility.
When countries develop better ways to understand and recognize qualifications, workers can potentially demonstrate their capabilities more easily when seeking opportunities beyond their local labour markets.
BRICS has already identified mutual recognition of qualifications as an area for educational cooperation. Its 2025 education agenda also connected international cooperation with the development of assessment approaches that could support recognition of qualifications.
This does not mean that workers will automatically receive recognition for every qualification across every BRICS country. Instead, it points toward a longer-term effort to improve cooperation around qualifications and make skills easier to understand across education and employment systems.
For workers, this could eventually mean greater opportunities to use their skills across borders.
Preparing Workers for AI and Digital Transformation
Artificial intelligence is another major reason why skills cooperation has become urgent.
In February 2025, the BRICS Employment Working Group discussed the impact of AI on labour markets and the need for training and skills development. The discussions emphasized that governments and businesses need to prepare workers for technological, environmental, and social changes.
The issue goes beyond learning how to use AI tools.
Workers may need a combination of:
- Digital literacy
- Technical skills
- Problem-solving abilities
- Communication skills
- Adaptability
- Industry-specific expertise
- AI awareness
- Continuous learning
As technology changes particular tasks, professionals who can combine practical expertise with digital capabilities may become increasingly valuable.
For example, a technician may need traditional hands-on knowledge while also working with digital diagnostic systems. A manufacturing professional may need practical production skills alongside knowledge of automation and data. Similarly, workers in logistics, healthcare, construction, finance, and other industries may increasingly interact with AI-enabled systems.
Therefore, the future of work is not simply about choosing between humans and technology. It is increasingly about helping people work effectively with technology.
Reskilling Is Becoming Part of the Future of Work
The transformation of work also creates a strong need for reskilling.
The 2025 BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' discussions addressed AI, climate change, social protection, and professional reskilling. The resulting declaration emphasized cooperation to help workers respond to major transformations in the labour market.
This approach recognizes an important reality: not every worker can simply move into a completely new profession overnight.
Instead, many people may need to build on what they already know.
A construction worker may learn new digital tools. A manufacturing employee may develop automation skills. A customer service professional may learn to work alongside AI-based systems. A technician may add new capabilities related to smart equipment.
This makes lifelong learning an increasingly important part of career development.
TVET Can Connect Education With Industry
One of the biggest strengths of vocational education is its practical focus.
Traditional academic education can provide valuable theoretical knowledge. However, many industries also require people who can apply knowledge in real working environments.
TVET can help bridge this gap by combining classroom learning with practical training, technical knowledge, workplace exposure, and industry-relevant skills.
The BRICS-TCA specifically focuses on making vocational education more responsive to labour-market needs and encouraging cooperation between TVET networks and institutions.
This connection becomes even more important as industries evolve.
Training providers need to understand what employers actually require. Employers need access to people with relevant skills. Governments need policies that support quality training. And learners need clear pathways from education to employment.
When these parts work together, skill development can have a much stronger impact.
Sharing Best Practices Can Strengthen Skills Systems
Every BRICS country has its own education system, labour market, industries, and workforce challenges.
However, countries can still learn from each other.
The BRICS-TCA provides a platform for sharing policies, experiences, training approaches, and innovative practices. Previous initiatives have included teacher training, student exchanges, online courses, joint research, and institutional partnerships.
Such cooperation can help countries identify approaches that work in different contexts.
For example, one country may have developed effective methods for industry-linked training, while another may have experience with digital learning, apprenticeship models, qualification systems, or inclusive vocational education.
Sharing these experiences can reduce duplication and encourage faster innovation.
Making Skills More Inclusive
The future of work cannot focus only on highly skilled professionals.
Millions of people need accessible pathways to acquire practical and employable skills.
BRICS cooperation has recognized the importance of equitable participation in TVET, including opportunities for women, rural communities, people with disabilities, migrants, and other underrepresented groups.
This is particularly important because access to skills can influence access to employment.
When people can acquire relevant skills, demonstrate their capabilities, and connect those skills with employment opportunities, vocational education can contribute to greater economic participation.
As a result, skills development can support not only individual careers but also broader social and economic inclusion.
What This Could Mean for Young People
Young people entering the workforce face a different environment from previous generations.
They may need to change roles several times during their careers. They may work with technologies that did not exist when they began their education. They may also compete in increasingly connected labour markets.
That makes career preparation more than simply obtaining a certificate.
Young professionals need opportunities to develop:
Practical skills: The ability to perform real tasks and solve workplace problems.
Digital skills: The ability to use modern technologies effectively.
Human skills: Communication, teamwork, creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability.
Industry awareness: An understanding of how their chosen sector operates.
Learning agility: The ability to continue developing skills as requirements change.
Vocational training can contribute to all of these areas when programs remain closely connected to industry needs.
From Qualifications to Career Opportunities
A qualification has greater value when it helps a person move toward meaningful employment.
This is why the growing focus on cooperation, recognition, and industry relevance within BRICS is important.
The objective is not simply to produce more certificates. It is to create stronger connections between education, skills, qualifications, employment, and mobility.
For learners, this can mean clearer career pathways.
For employers, it can mean better access to skilled workers.
For governments, it can support workforce development and economic competitiveness.
For workers, stronger skills recognition could eventually make it easier to demonstrate capabilities when exploring opportunities across different markets.
The Role of Training Providers
As international cooperation around skills grows, training providers also have an important role to play.
Organisations involved in vocational education and skill development need to keep their programs aligned with changing industry requirements. They can introduce digital tools, update practical training, strengthen industry connections, and help learners develop both technical and human skills.
For example, initiatives such as those supported by Meritude can contribute to skill-based learning by helping learners build practical capabilities that connect with changing employment requirements.
The broader goal should be simple: training should help people become more confident, capable, and prepared for real work.
A More Connected Future of Work
BRICS cooperation shows that the future of work is not only a technology issue. It is also a skills, education, employment, and mobility issue.
AI will continue to change jobs. Climate change will reshape industries. Digital technologies will create new opportunities while changing existing roles. At the same time, workers will continue to need practical knowledge, human judgment, adaptability, and opportunities to learn.
The BRICS focus on TVET cooperation, qualification recognition, employment policy, reskilling, and knowledge exchange provides a foundation for addressing these changes collectively. The 2025 Rio de Janeiro Declaration welcomed the BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance Charter and reaffirmed technical and vocational education as a strategic priority for sustainable development and social inclusion.
Ultimately, the journey from skills to mobility is about creating stronger pathways for people to learn, work, adapt, and grow.
As BRICS cooperation develops further, the countries involved have an opportunity to build skill systems that are more connected to industry, more inclusive for learners, and more responsive to the future of work.
And for individuals, the message is clear: developing relevant skills today can create more opportunities tomorrow.