DHL study reveals Asian youth are growing anxious about finding employment

• 88% of youth surveyed believed that they
  have the requisite skills needed to enter the working world but more than 90%
  of them are “anxious” about their ability to secure a job upon completing their
  education
• Most felt that Covid-19 is affecting the
  job-seeking process but remain optimistic

SINGAPORE – Media
OutReach – 15 July 2021 – To mark the United Nations’ World Youth Skills Day this year, Deutsche
Post DHL Group (DPDHL Group), the world’s leading logistics provider has published
key findings from an inaugural study on youth employability in Asia Pacific.
The three-week online study saw close to 950 responses from young people above
15 years of age across seven countries – Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri
Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. This study was done as part of DPDHL Group’s
GoTeach program with the support of its global partners Teach For All network
and SOS Children’s Villages.

 

Christoph Selig, Vice-President, sustainability
communications and programs, DPDHL Group said, “Job uncertainties and
insecurities abound as most economies in the region continue to battle
different waves of Covid-19 even as the pandemic starts to recede with the
availability of vaccines. Whilst this inevitably impacts the hiring roadmap for
businesses across multiple industries, it is heartening to see our youth
recognizing the challenges ahead, but yet remain optimistic about their own
aptitude and abilities to secure a job upon completing their education.”

 

The study found that more than 90% of youth who
responded are either “anxious” or “very anxious” about their ability to find a
job, with nearly 95% acknowledging that the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the
process of job hunting. Despite this, there is a sense of confidence as well as
optimism among these youth: 88% of them believe they are ready to enter the job
market, with more than 70% indicating that they expect to land a job in less
than six months upon completing their education.

 

When evaluating an offer, the “opportunity to learn
and be challenged” at a job came up top in factors to consider followed closely
by “job security”, where nearly 20% of respondents indicated as crucial. Unsurprisingly,
circa 38% of the young surveyed regarded traditional methods such as internships
to be useful in helping them land a job although recommendations from mentors
and teachers are equally considered to be key enablers. Online job portals whilst
prevalent are viewed as the least useful channel simply due to the lack of the
personal connection afforded by working as an intern or a validation by a
contact.

 

Industry
preferences

Over 360 youth felt that working as a healthcare
professional such as a nurse or doctor is the most recession-proof occupation
undoubtedly swayed by the critical roles that these front-liners have played
since the global Covid-19 outbreak, whereas a job in the education or
government sectors are tied in second. Interestingly, when asked what their
preference as a first job will be, more than 20% picked entrepreneurship
compared to 14% who selected healthcare. Indeed, the education, hospitality/
tourism sectors joined entrepreneurship in the top three industry preferences
ranking with healthcare trailing in fourth place.

 

“Young people just entering the workforce have
witnessed an unprecedented crisis that would have influenced their view of the
working world,” commented Susanne Novotny, Corporate Partnership Manager at SOS
Children’s Villages. “It’s therefore not surprising that most felt that the
healthcare industry is somewhat recession-proof but equally, most young people
might have preferred to start their own business to have better control over
their own lives, careers and destiny. All in all, it’s encouraging to see the
enterprising spirit of young people, strongly supported by GoTeach
entrepreneurship training on how to start and run their own business.”

Essential skills
for the working world

Beyond technical and vocational skills, 45% of those
surveyed viewed interpersonal communications skills as key whilst 30% thought
language skills to be pertinent in their ability to secure a job.

 

Pablo Millanes, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Teach
For All said, “Our GoTeach mentorship programs are always designed to equip
young people with the broad range of knowledge and skills that they will need
to fulfill their potential in a rapidly changing world, and we’ll keep working closely
with DHL to refine our activities as the world evolves. For example, we
migrated all our GoTeach activities online last year when Covid hit, which was
challenging at first but it opened up opportunities for volunteers around the
world to participate.”

 

Designated
by the General Assembly in 2014, the World Youth
Skills Day is an opportunity for young people, technical and vocational
education and training (TVET) institutions, and public and private sector
stakeholders to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of equipping young people
with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. This year’s theme
is “Skills for a resilient youth”.

 

An Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)
initiative dating back to 2009, GoTeach seeks to improve the employability of
young people, especially those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds
caused by social unrest, poverty and/or loss of family. To date, volunteers
from across DPDHL Group in over 60 countries have contributed their time and
effort into working with young people under this program. In Asia Pacific, more
than 600 DHL volunteers ran several initiatives in 2020, including mentoring,
job skills training, resume writing, internships and youth camps, to benefit
young people across the region.

 

Note to editors:

 

Please refer to the attached infographic
for the complete findings of the study conducted among 950 young people across
Asia. For more stories about DHL’s sustainability approach and programs,
including GoTeach, please visit Logistics of Things.