Young people in South-East Asia face a relentless challenge to upgrade their skills as technology disrupts job markets in the region, according to research released today by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Sea, one of South-East Asia’s leading consumer internet companies. The survey of 56,000 youth aged between 15 and 35, from six countries in the South-East Asia region (ASEAN), explored what skills they regard as important for the future, and whether they believe they are proficient in those skills.
The results reveal that 9% of respondents felt that their current skills are already outdated, while 52% believe they must ‘update their skills constantly’. Only 18% believe their current skills will stay relevant for most of their lives, and so they are keen to upgrade their skills in a bid to succeed in a changing job market.
“It is impossible to predict how technology will change the future of work,” stated Justin Wood, Head of Asia Pacific and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum. “The only certainty is that job markets face accelerating disruption, where the lifespan of many skills is shortening. It is encouraging that ASEAN youths are aware of these challenges and show a deep commitment to lifelong, ongoing learning.”
SKILLS PRIZED OVER SALARY
Concerns about the relevancy of their skills are reflected in their attitudes to jobs. ASEAN youths say the number one reason they change jobs is to learn new skills. Interestingly, the desire to earn a higher income comes second. Approximately 5.7% cited having lost a job either because their skills were no longer relevant, or because technology had displaced them. Other reasons for leaving included the desire to create a more positive social impact and to have a more innovative working environment.
REGIONAL RESKILLING PROGRAMME
In a bid to help train up workers with relevant skills in the region, the WEF launched the ASEAN Digital Skills Vision 2020 programme back in November 2018, which assembled a coalition of organisations to train up 20 million workers at ASEAN SMEs by 2020, and to provide internship and scholarship opportunities. Some 16 organisations (including BigPay, Certiport, Cisco, FPT Corporation, General Assembly, Golden Gate Ventures, Google, Grab, Lazada, Microsoft, Netflix, Plan International, Sea, thyssenkrupp, Tokopedia and VNG Corporation) have joined the programme to date.
Commenting on the programme, Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director and Head of the Centre for the New Economy and Society at the WEF, stated: “Government policy and business practices need to catch up to what is happening on the ground. Advances in technology will continue to impact labour markets into the future, and this requires ongoing education and skills training. Anything less than a systematic shift in our approach to education and skills risks leaving people behind.”
To date, the initiative has already secured commitments to train over 8.9 million workers at SMEs, and to provide over 30,000 internships. The survey reveals that 81% of ASEAN youths believe internships are either equally important, if not more, than school education. In addition, over half are keen to spend time working overseas in the next three years to gain new skills, with a significant portion wanting to work in another ASEAN country.
SOFT VERSUS STEM SKILLS
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Interestingly, the survey revealed that ASEAN youth attach more importance to soft skills than STEM ( science, technology, engineering and maths) skills. They see ‘creativity and innovation’ as the most important skill to have, followed by the ability to speak multiple languages and soft skills, such as emotional intelligence. ‘Maths and science’ and ‘data analytics’ are considered to be the two least important skills.
“While it is essential that the region continues to invest in developing STEM skills among young people, we can also see that soft skills will have a vital role to play – even in the tech sector,” noted Santitarn Sathirathai, Group Chief Economist of Sea. “In a world where knowledge becomes obsolete more quickly, soft skills such as adaptability, leadership and creativity will be crucial in ensuring young people have the resilience to constantly evolve their skill-sets in step with a changing market.”
ENTREPRENEURIAL SETTINGS PREFERRED
When asked what type of organisation they would like to work in the future, ASEAN youths revealed a strong preference for entrepreneurial settings. While SMEs form the backbone of ASEAN labour markets, the survey reveals that small companies face recruitment challenges. Currently, approximately 18% of youths work for SMEs, but only 8% want to continue to work there. One reason for the lack of interest is because they believe they will receive less training at small firms compared to larger organisations.
In the future, 33% want to work in an entrepreneurial setting and some 19% have future aspirations to work for foreign multinationals. ASEAN youth also displayed a clear preference to work in the technology sector. Although only 7% work in tech today, more than double (16%) aspire to work in the tech field in the future. The survey also reveals that more traditional sectors of the economy will soon face recruitment challenges. Although 15% of youth work in manufacturing today, only 12% want to continue to work there in the future. Similarly, just over half of the 8% that currently work as teachers want to stay in education in the near future (just 5%).
Click here to see the full results and analysis of the ASEAN Youth Survey.
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