Adolescent Life Skills Development and Future Readiness: A Qualitative Analysis and Systematic Literature Review

Abstract In today’s dynamic world, adolescent life skills development plays a crucial role in ensuring future readiness, youth employability, and overall, well-being. Essential 21-century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, emotional intelligence, communication and adaptability help adolescent navigate academic, professional, and personal challenges. This study employs a qualitative approach, integrating a descriptive survey questionnaire of 20 adolescents along with systematic literature review of 35 studies to explore how school-based life skills education contributes to career readiness in youth. Additionally, it highlights life skills activities and strategies adopted by schools in Delhi to enhance student preparedness. The primary data is collected through an open-ended questionnaire to understand students’ opinions on key life skills, challenges in skill development. The systematic literature review identifies trends in emotional intelligence in adolescents, school-based interventions, and challenges such as curriculum limitations, socio-economic barriers and lack of experiential training. Findings indicate that while students recognize the importance of life skills, practical applications within the education system remains limited. By analysing real-world school interventions of some schools in Delhi, the study provides insights into successful strategies such as interactive learning modules, mentorship programs, self-awareness boosting workshops and policy-driven life skills integration. The research emphasizes the significance of holistic education policies to equip adolescents with resilience, decision taking abilities and adaptability for an evolving workforce. Findings contribute to the discourse on life skills education, advocating for an inclusive, experiential, and future-oriented approach to adolescent development. Keywords: Adolescent Life Skills; Future Readiness; Youth Employability; 21stCentury Skills; Career Readiness in Youth