MANILA: All levels of society could learn a lot from a recent survey of Asean youth that revealed the group’s hopes and aspirations for the future, which could guide Southeast Asian nations in tackling youth-related issues primarily related to employment.
The survey was acknowledged by the region’s governments , especially within the Philippines which took note that their youth preferred to work overseas and wanted to change their mindset, said the Manila Bulletin.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) survey titled “Asean youth: Technology, skills and the future of work” summarised the results into seven points.
First, Asean youth showed a strong commitment to lifelong learning and a growth mindset, with their primary reason for switching jobs being so that they could acquire new skills.
“They wanted to participate in more on-the-job training and internships.
“They wanted to be entre-preneurs and also to work for multinational companies.
“Meanwhile, traditional small and medium enterprises were less favoured, as they mostly coveted jobs in the tech sector and valued soft skills over hard skills,” said The Asean Post.
At the same time, they believed that they were more competent in soft skills and were open to working overseas as a means to upgrade their skill set.
The Manila Bulletin quoted Senator Sonny Angara as feeling disappointed with data which showed that many young Filipinos were seeking their futures outside of the Philippines.
“The data is disheartening: more than half (52.9 per cent) of Filipino respondents aged 15 to 35, the so-called Millennial and Z generations, aspired to work overseas in the next three years, than here at home,” he said.
However, similar tendencies were also detected in other countries within the region, especially in Thailand where 51.9 per cent of the youth had the same mind set.
Only in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam was the situation reversed, with a majority preferring to work in their own country.
The senator acknowledged that a higher salary abroad is a huge factor.
“Combine that with the inability of our new graduates to find jobs, a fact borne out by the Labor Force Survey in January which showed that nearly 21 per cent of the country’s unemployed had college degrees, and we end up with the pull-and-push factors to the brain drain that debilitates our country,” he added.
In other notable findings, Indonesian youth were on top of the list in wanting to be an entrepreneur with 35.5 per cent followed by Thailand (31.9 per cent), Vietnam (25.7 per cent) and Malaysia (22.9 per cent).
The survey involved 56,000 Asean citizens aged between 15 and 35.
Equally telling was the survey finding out that nine per cent of respondents felt their current skills were already outdated while 52 per cent believed they had to update their skills constantly.
Only 18 per cent believed that their current education and skills would last for their lifetime as they faced a relentless challenge to upgrade their skills with technology the main disruptor to job markets.
Subsequently, many voiced their concern about the need to adapt to technological changes with industries such as software engineering, medicine and renewable energy, which were expected to see a surge in demand.