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4. Quality education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

SDG 4. Quality education

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all


Targets*

4.1 Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education
4.2 Ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education
4.3 Ensure equal access to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
4.4 Substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and
entrepreneurship
4.5 Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable
4.6 Ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults achieve literacy and numeracy
4.7 Ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote
sustainable development


Key insights

  • Out of the 17 SDGs, SDG 4 has the highest chance of achievement by 2030 on part of countries in Southeast Asia.1 However, a focus on early childhood interventions, particularly targeted at disability-inclusion, will be required.2


Business actions**

  1. Ensure that all employees across the business and supply chain have access to vocational training and life-long learning opportunities
  2. Ensure that all employees across the business and supply chain earn a wage that allows them to support the education of dependents and that there is zero child labour 
  3. Implement programmes to support higher education and access to free, equitable, and inclusive primary and secondary education, focusing particularly on disadvantaged groups
  4. Research, develop and deploy products and services that improve educational access and learning outcomes


Example

  • A Swiss power and automation group provides talented engineering students in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and elsewhere with college scholarships, a company mentor, and an invitation to visit the group’s Corporate Research Centre. The company increases the skill levels of local populations while bolstering their recruitment strategy.3

Thought Leadership

Digital education 2.0

Find out how modern technologies like AI and cognitive analytics can revolutionise the future of education and learning. 

Growth and opportunity in Australian International Education

Find out about the lucrative nature of Australia’s international education and how it will evolve over the coming decades.

Revitalising Education

Find out how advanced technologies like AI can enable transformative change in China’s education sector.

* All targets for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Statistics Division (2018), from: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/
** All business actions for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Global Compact (2017), from: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/5461
1 UNESCAP (2017), from: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Asia-Pacific-SDG-Progress-Report-2017.pdf
2 UNESCO (2018), from: https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/education-and-disability-analysis-data-asia-pacific-countries
3 ABB (NA), from: https://new.abb.com/sustainability/society/foundation

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