ASEAN Youth Technology, Skills and the Future of Work

The report finds that ASEAN youths possess a growth mindset and a strong commitment to lifelong learning due to fears of technological disruption. While they aspire to be entrepreneurs or work for foreign multinationals and tech companies, they express declining interest in traditional SMEs, manufacturing, and education. There is a notable gap in STEM proficiency, as youths value and feel more competent in soft skills, despite the technical demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

• ASEAN youths demonstrate a strong awareness of the Fourth Industrial Revolution's potential to disrupt employment, with 52.4% believing they must constantly upgrade their skills and 9.2% believing their current skills are already outdated.
• The primary motivation for ASEAN youths to change jobs is the opportunity for learning and development, with 19% citing this as their top reason. Additionally, 5.7% of respondents reported job loss due to technology displacement or outdated skills.
• There is a significant gap in formal on-the-job training; only 14.1% of employed youths learned their most important skills this way. Those in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or family businesses are less likely to receive such training than those in large multinationals.
• Youths show a strong preference for entrepreneurial roles and foreign multinationals over traditional local companies. While 33.1% aspire to work in entrepreneurial settings and 18.8% want to work for foreign multinationals, only 7.5% aspire to work for an SME in the future, compared to 18.3% who do so currently.
• There is a shift in sectoral aspirations toward technology, with 16% wanting to work in the tech sector compared to 7% currently. Conversely, interest is declining in manufacturing (from 15% to 12%), construction (from 4% to 2%), and education (from 8% to 5%).
• ASEAN youths value soft skills—specifically creativity, innovation, and language skills—more than hard STEM skills. They also perceive themselves as more proficient in soft skills, while ranking technology design, data analytics, and maths and science as their weakest areas.
• A significant portion of ASEAN youths (46.4%) are interested in working overseas within the next three years as a strategy to acquire new practical skills and 'knowhow' to remain relevant.

APA

World Economic Forum (2019). ASEAN Youth Technology, Skills and the Future of Work. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Youth_Survey_2019_Report.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. ASEAN Youth Technology, Skills and the Future of Work. 2019. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Youth_Survey_2019_Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=ASEAN Youth Technology, Skills and the Future of Work |date=August 2019 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Youth_Survey_2019_Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2019asean, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{ASEAN Youth Technology, Skills and the Future of Work}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = aug, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ASEAN_Youth_Survey_2019_Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }