NINE in 10 young people in Asia-Pacific believe there is a gap between what schools teach and what employers expect, while 97 percent want greater exposure to actual workplace operations, a regional study showed.
The survey — commissioned by Federal Express Corp. (FedEx) and youth-serving nonprofit Junior Achievement (JA) — covered more than 4,200 people aged 15 to 22 across 10 Asia Pacific markets.
It found that students want formal education to place greater emphasis on practical and transferable skills.
Their top priorities include workplace experience, problem-solving and creative thinking, followed by communication, presentation, digital and technology skills.
Young people expect adaptability and learning agility to be the most important career skills over the next 10 to 15 years. They value abilities that will allow them to continue learning, respond to change, and navigate unfamiliar challenges.
However, only 62 percent are confident they can adapt quickly to change. Just 55 percent are comfortable solving problems without obvious answers, while 56 percent are comfortable working without a fixed routine.
The study also found that 85 percent of respondents believe an entrepreneurial mindset can help people succeed in any career.
The figure was higher in the Philippines, where 94 percent shared this view — among the highest levels in the region, alongside Indonesia and Malaysia.
FedEx said this reflected the importance young Filipinos place on initiative and the ability to identify and act on opportunities, even as employees.
Despite recognizing the value of these skills, fewer respondents were confident they could apply them. Only 61 percent said they could generate new ideas or solutions, while 59 percent were confident working independently and making decisions without substantial guidance.
Confidence in taking the initiative, making independent decisions and innovating was generally higher in Southeast Asia than in Japan and South Korea.
The study also highlighted the need to prepare young people for an artificial intelligence-enabled and globally connected economy.
About 90 percent said understanding how businesses operate across countries would benefit their careers, while 71 percent reported learning about this in school.
Meanwhile, 84 percent expect to work with AI, yet only 62 percent believe their education is preparing them to use it in the workplace. Self-directed experimentation was the most common source of AI learning, cited by 42 percent.
Filipino respondents expressed greater confidence in formal education. About 94 percent credited their education with providing trade knowledge and career preparation, while 95 percent said it was preparing them to use AI — among the highest levels recorded in the study.
FedEx and JA executives said addressing the region’s youth unemployment rate of nearly 14 percent would require more industry-led, hands-on training to develop adaptability, commercial judgment and practical AI skills.
The survey’s release coincided with the 20th year of the FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge. The entrepreneurship education program has reached more than 54,000 students in the region since 2007, including over 12,000 in the Philippines since 2009.
