Youths are aware of and care about global economic developments. They find the economic uncertainty a concern and hope to receive greater support in career and financial planning. These were some of the findings from a survey conducted by Blackbox Research of 1,000 youth respondents last year, and shared at the Gen2050 Youth Action Forum at end-November 2025.
What came through clearly in the findings were, although youths recognised the importance of technical skills, they also knew the need for crucial soft skills to succeed in the future workforce. The top three highly valued skills were: communication and interpersonal skills (33%), adaptability and lifelong learning (32%), and analytical and critical thinking (31%).
The survey findings also disclosed a call for more guidance, with 65% youths* indicating they required more support for career planning. Separately, 58% of youths* said they needed more help with financial planning. (*Within these groups, about 58% were working adults and about 42% were students. The percentages broadly followed the overall sample distribution of the poll.)
The Gen2050 Youth Action Forum, organised by KPMG in Singapore, National Youth Council (NYC), and Institute of Public Relations of Singapore (IPRS), is a milestone event under the Gen2050 programme. Gen2050 is designed to spark critical conversations about global developments and their impact on youths’ lives and futures, and explore how young people perceive and respond to challenges in areas like the future of work and technological advancements.
Half of the Blackbox Research survey respondents recognised and acknowledged that the 3P (public, private and people) sectors, spanning the government, educational institutions, employers, wider society and community, are playing important roles in supporting them.
The 2025 Gen2050 Youth Action Forum was one such initiative, bringing together expertise and support from the 3P sectors in the areas of youth engagement, industry perspectives and mentorship to provide youths with tools, platforms, and opportunities to transform their aspirations into measurable, real-world outcomes. Significantly, the views and insights garnered from such engagements would directly inform the SG Youth Plan – a five-year action plan on youth development, created by youths and for youths.
Another initiative geared towards the SG Youth Plan was the National Mentoring Summit (NMS) 2025, which took place in mid-November last year. Organised by Mentoring Alliance SG and NYC, NMS 2025 brought together mentors, mentees and key stakeholders to showcase mentorship in action while celebrating the progress of the Mentoring SG movement in empowering youths. To date, more than 20,000 mentoring opportunities have been created for youths.
Supporting youths to be more confident when facing key milestone events in life is a whole-of-society effort. Giving credence to the value of mentorship, a survey by the Verian Group of 500 youths showed that eight in 10 who had participated in mentoring felt that it equipped them with the knowledge to navigate life transitions. Nine in 10 found mentoring beneficial, and they valued the relationships cultivated with their mentors. The findings were part of the State of Youth Mentoring in Singapore Report, which provides insights to guide the strengthening of mentoring practices and outcomes for youths.
Youths can look forward to the SG Youth Plan, which encapsulates their collective voices. As stated on the website, “The SG Youth Plan will hold the hopes and aspirations of young Singaporeans for themselves and for Singapore, and outlines how youth, supported with opportunities, platforms, and resources, can take action to do good for Singapore, and details ideas for how every part of society can play a part in empowering youths to be the best versions of themselves.”
