commissionedbyCrisis of Opportunity:
Young People Navigating the
New Work Order
July 2024

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Acknowledgements
Deloitte Australia acknowledges and thanks the World YMCA for commissioning the report with support from ServiceNow and
the Y Australia. In particular, we would like to thank the following for their contribution and strategic input:
World YMCA
YMCA is active in 12,000 communities and 120 countries, employing some 90,000 staff and mobilizing some 920,000
volunteers. It reaches over 60 million people a year. Working collectively under its shared YMCA Vision 2030, it impacts lives
through programs and advocacy in four priority areas: Community Wellbeing, Meaningful Work, Sustainable Planet, and Just
World. Established in 1844, the YMCA is 180 years old in 2024.
Y Australia
Part of the global YMCA Movement, the Y Australia offers a wide range of programs and services over 680 localities around
Australia that support children and young people across their life cycle, from early learning programs to meaningful career
pathways, through to recreation and other supports for older Australians.

Carlos Sanvee

Jan Owen AM

Tal Karp

Secretary General, World YMCA

Project Sponsor

Project Sponsor

Rehana Merali MerchantMaria Cristina Saldarriaga

Lauren Pollock

Pillar Lead, Meaningful Work

Global Program Support Coordinator

National Manager, Youth Ecosystem
and Special Projects

Nicole Scoble-Williams

Cameron Pitt

David Rumbens

Global Future of Work Lead

Australian Modern Work Lead Partner

Deloitte Access Economics Partner

Thank you to the Deloitte Human Capital and Access Economics teams for their contributions:
Jacqueline Spence

Sophie Jayatillake

David Crowe

Amelia O’Dell

Michelle Shi

Kirsty Miller

Jacob Meacham

Jasper Roberts

Sophia Bars

Thank you to the over 10,000 young people, from 127 countries, that participated in the Meaningful Work Survey, and the 60+
young people who were directly consulted as part of focus groups.
Thank you to the 90+ Youth Champions and the 85+ National Government Secretaries who drove the success of the Meaningful
Work Survey and assisted in prioritising a diverse voice of young people from across the world.
Thank you to the members of the Steering Committee for YMCA's Global Meaningful Work Project; the YMCA's Community of
Impact on Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship and World YMCA's Communications team for their invaluable input, advice
and support.
Thank you to the 20+ Global Deloitte Partners for offering their expertise and eminence to the Meaningful Work findings andconclusions.

Supported By:

Deloitte
Access Economics

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

World YMCA and Vision 2030
YMCA is the oldest and one of the largest youth organisations in theworld. Established in 1844, it has grown to reach over 65 million people
a year across 120 countries, forming a global Movement.
YMCA’s vision is a world where every person lives in harmony with self,with society and with creation. Its mission is to empower young people andcommunities worldwide to build a just, sustainable, equitable world.
To drive progress towards achieving its vision and mission, in 2022, YMCA
endorsed the Movement’s first ever shared strategy and plan, Vision 2030.
Vision 2030 comprises a collective vision statement, a mission statement,
and four key ‘Pillars of Impact’ and is closely aligned to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals, which must also be achieved by 2030.

Vision 2030 aims to:
Inspire young people to be and to lead the change they want to see.
Unite the YMCA Movement to maximise collective impact.
Help the YMCA Movement reach its goal of being the world’s partnerof choice as a youth empowerment organisation.
Help the YMCA Movement reach and collaborate with partners, funders,organisations, and individuals.
The four key ‘Pillars of Impact’ defined in Vision 2030 are Community
Wellbeing, Meaningful Work, Sustainable Planet, and Just World. Further
information on each of the Pillars can be found here.

02

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

The Meaningful Work pillar
The Meaningful Work pillar pledges to create, expand, and advocate for meaningful, justand equitable education, training, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in thetransition to a new economic structure. The Meaningful Work pillar has three strategic goals,
focused on the YMCA, communities, and the world.
This report focuses specifically on Strategic Goal 3 of the Meaningful Work pillar:

Our World: The YMCA amplifies the voices of young people
and communities and advocates policies to ensure decent,flexible, meaningful and equitable access to employment,
entrepreneurship and training opportunities.

The Y Australia (formerly YMCA Australia) was tasked with global leadership of the WorldYMCA’s Meaningful Work pillar. To accelerate progress, The Y Australia embarked on a newcollaboration with global professional services firm, Deloitte Australia. The collaboration
effectively optimised both YMCA and Deloitte Australia’s expertise, reach and uniqueunderstanding of young people and the changing nature of work.

03

Contents

04

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Introduction

05

Background07

Executive summary

10

Young people and work

13

Barriers to work for young people

17

The role of support

24

What young people expect and hope for the future of work

29

The case for change

34

Appendix A Youth Meaningful Work Survey

37

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Introduction

05

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Foreword

Established in 1844, the YMCA Movement
is dedicated to empowering young people
and their communities worldwide to build
a just, sustainable, equitable and inclusive
world, where every person can thrive inbody, mind and spirit.
In 2022, we launched YMCA Vision 2030,
the first global strategy in the history of ourMovement. Meaningful Work is one of four
strategic pillars of Vision 2030: by 2030, ourMovement aims to empower young people
and their communities everywhere toensure they are ready for the challenges ofwork today, tomorrow and into the future.
These challenges are significantly impacting
young people all around the world. They
face higher unemployment rates comparedto adults, meaning that immediate action
is needed to ensure that they have accessto meaningful employment opportunities.
Young people are increasingly aware of
the growing disparity between the skills
and experiences they have acquired andthose desired by employers. Many of themfeel a lack of hope and are anticipating
negative impacts to their work frommajor economic, social, political andenvironmental challenges. At the sametime, the concerns around the wellbeing
and mental health of young people
continue to escalate, with youth suicidea concerning and growing trend.

It is crucial that we address thesechallenges and provide young people withthe support, resources, and opportunities
they need. We have an important andexciting role to play in helping pave
the path for our young people to build
sustainable careers in today’s world of
perpetual disruption, and to ensure afuture filled with hope and possibilities.
The world needs a new approach to
Meaningful Work to ensure that young
people can access and engage in thework of the future, fulfil their potential,
and thrive. We are proud to have engaged
with 10,000 young people globally tounderstand their needs, hopes andfears for work and to amplify their voices
through our work – in particular, the voicesof young people from lower social andeconomic backgrounds and underserved
communities, whose work and lives standto be transformed by improved Meaningful
Work outcomes.
Together with our research and leading
insights from global subject matter experts
and World YMCA leaders, we have listened
widely and deeply, to understand theopportunities and challenges that young
people are tackling in today’s world ofwork, and what change is needed to enable
and accelerate their ability to pursue
their aspirations.

The result is this publication, Crisis of
Opportunity: Young People Navigating
the New Work Order, which sets out ourfindings and the change we need to see
to empower young people in Meaningful
Work. Together with its companion
publication, Future Ready: Reimagining
Meaningful Work for Young People’ Report,
we outline just what that new approach
to Meaningful Work will look like, both foryoung people and the organisations andcommunities they work in.
For young people to access Meaningful
Work now and into the future, a better
coordinated and integrated ecosystem ofbusiness, government, civil society andyoung people themselves, will be needed
to create a new and altogether better
future for young people in work – one thatmeets their needs, allows them to fulfil
their dreams and sustain themselves andtheir communities over time. This will not
only help young people, but deliver positive
outcomes for employers, economies andsociety more broadly.
If we act now, we can change the livesof millions of young people all aroundthe world for years to come. Let’s work
together to help make Meaningful Worka reality for young people.

Carlos Sanvee
World YMCA Secretary General06

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Background07

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Document purpose
Crisis of Opportunity: Young People
Navigating the New Work Order is the first of
two joint publications between the WorldYMCA, the Y Australia, Deloitte Australia
and Service Now.
This report explores the challenges,
opportunities and aspirations that young
people are navigating in accessing andengaging in Meaningful Work, and provides
a summary of the key findings fromthe Youth Meaningful Work survey,
conducted with young people aged 18 – 35
globally from October 2023 to March 2024.
This report also incorporates extensive
external research on the relationshipbetween young people and work.

The second of our two joint publications,
Future Ready: Reimagining Meaningful
Work for Young People, proposes a new
definition for Meaningful Work developed
for and with young people and acts as
an accompaniment to this report. The
definition will be supported by a common,
globally scalable framework and series ofrecommendations to create change.

Intended audiences andhow to use this document
Realising Meaningful Work opportunities
for young people will rely on investment
and coordinated collaboration acrossthe work ecosystem through business,government and civil society.

A young person's "work ecosystem"encompasses the network of actors—
including governments, businesses,organizations, NGOs, families, andcommunities—that influence theiropportunities, support, and experiencesin accessing and engaging withmeaningful work.
Through collective action, there is theability to drive greater impact, and create
a future where Meaningful Work becomesan attainable reality for a greater numberof young people.
This document is intended to be readand utilised by a number of audiences.
We’ve provided an overview of how
different audiences may interpret andapply the report.

Table 1.1: Intended audience and use of report
Intended Audience

How they can use the report

Young People

Support young people in articulating what they want, need and expect from their work
experiences, aspirations and connections to the broader community

Not for profits, nongovernmental organisations,and other organisations

Empower leadership and staff by providing a robust and credible framework that is created forand by young people, to advocate for change

Business

Understand the motivations, experiences and aspirations of young people to design new
types of work and employment models that empower them to achieve Meaningful Work andsustainable careers. Introducing more meaningful work opportunities can boost productivity
and foster innovation in organisations, ultimately driving organisational growth

Government andPolicy Makers

Understand the motivations, experiences and aspirations of young people to profile and elevatepublic policy and regulatory directions and approaches

Align organisational priorities, efforts around a shared agenda and case for change for young
people in work

Understand the role of young people within the work ecosystem and the part they can play
Communities where young
people live and work

Understand the motivations, experiences and aspirations of young people to explore new
approaches to further shape Meaningful Work for young people moving forward
Understand the role of young people within the work ecosystem and the part they can play

Source: Deloitte and YMCA

08

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work OrderApproach to this report
We have embarked on an eight month process as a partnership between World YMCA, The Y Australia and Deloitte Australia to arriveat this report.
The report has been informed by a comprehensive and robust deep listening process that has included:

The Youth Meaningful Work
Survey, a survey of over 10,000
young people aged 18 – 35 years
old from over 120 countries
worldwide, delivered by theWorld YMCA in conjunction
with Deloitte Australia andServiceNow (see Appendix A).
90+ Youth Champions (YMCA
staff and volunteers), wereenlisted from YMCAs topromote the survey and playeda critical role in driving survey
responses and reaching underrepresented groups.

Additional listening insights
drawn from the Global
Meaningful Work project
between World YMCA andDeloitte Australia, including
insights from:• 3 focus groups with a total of
60+ young people engaged• 85+ World YMCA National
General Secretaries andMeaningful Work pillar program
managers• 20+ Deloitte global partners
consulted on current andfuture work and workforce
trendsWho do we mean by ‘young people’?
The definition of "young people" varies among internationalorganisations such as ILO, OECD, WHO, and UN, based on different
socio-economic contexts and mandates.
For the World YMCA Global Meaningful Work project and this report,‘young people’ refers to individuals aged 18 - 35. This age range waschosen to allow for a detailed examination and comparison of theneeds and preferences of individuals within specific age groups.
Segmenting the range into narrower brackets, such as 18 - 21,
22 - 25, 26 - 30, and 31 - 35, has provided nuanced insights into
how preferences and priorities differ across different life
stages within the broader young adult demographic.

Extensive desktop research
into current and future work
and workforce trends
Current World YMCA Vision
2030 and Meaningful Workpillar documentation,
including reports, policies
and programs.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Executive
summary10

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

The world of work is rapidly changing.
Approximately 1.1 billion young people fromthe Global South alone are entering theworkforce in the next decade.1

In the wake of major global events such as the pandemic, increasing digitisation and use of AI, and ongoing socioeconomic tensions,
it is clear that young people are facing a very different world of work.
Recent research and literature reveal three critical issues that young people face today: unemployment, lack of hope, and mental health issues.

Figure 1.1: Critical issues facing young people today

Unemployment

Lack of Hope

Mental HealthYoung people are 3x more
likely to be unemployed
and be in insecure job
arrangements, with little tono social protections.

Only 32% of young people
believe that their country's
economic situation will improvein the next year, while evenfewer (27%) have confidence inthe political and social outlook.

40% of young people reportthey are stressed almost allof the time. Young people
are facing a wellbeingcrisis, feeling unmotivated,unsupported and burnt out.

Source: OECD; ILO; 2024 Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial survey.

Our survey of young people adds
to this research base, and focuseson three key areas: experience,
connections, and aspirations. We heard
from over 10,000 young people aroundthe world from different backgrounds
and stages of life. Importantly, about
45% of respondents were from anunderrepresented community,2 allowing
us to better understand any unique work
experiences that these young people face.

On experiences, about 1 in 3 young
people feel only neutral or feel
negative about their work.
Based on our research, we haveidentified that this sentiment reflects the
key challenges that young people areexperiencing at work, including a lack of fairand reasonable pay, a lack of opportunities
to build skills and experience, and a lack offlexible working hours.

Further, our deep listening has highlighted
that the biggest barriers that young
people say they face in achieving theirwork goals include not having the rightskills, qualifications or experiences (38%of respondents), poor economic or social
conditions (31%) and access to the rightsupport (29%).

1

United Nations, World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision. ESA/P/WP.228 (2012)2

F or a person to be considered under-represented they identified with one of the following categories: a person with a disability, part of a religious minority group,
LGBTQIA+, Indigenous / First Nations, neurodivergent, part of a racial/ethnic minority group, refugee/recent immigrant.

11

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

When it comes to connections, almost
3 in 10 young people surveyed
highlighted that they don’t believe they
have the right support they need toachieve their work goals.
The most important areas that young
people say they need support with are:
1. Skill development opportunities (58%of respondents)
2. Information about work and education
opportunities (54%), and
3. Financial support for work andeducation (45%).
And when it comes to aspirations, about
3 in 4 young people (74%) said the mostimportant thing they want from future
work is the opportunity to build their skills
and experience. Yet young people arealso aware that their future work is heavily
impacted by the uncertain, increasingly
complex, and rapidly changing economic
environment.

12

But what do these findings meanfor employers and supportingorganisations more broadly? It meansthat there is a substantial opportunity andcase for change, so that we can fully support
young people in work and ensure that theyreach their full potential.
There are three key opportunities that thework ecosystem must consider:
1. Current work opportunities,
programs and approaches are siloed,
not meeting young people’s needs
and impacting their ability to reach
their potential.
2. Young people need more support
from the work ecosystem to help
them find, access and prepare for
Meaningful Work.
3. Employers and supportingorganisations need to empower young
people to minimise distress and foster
positive outlooks.

There are significant benefits to beharnessed if these opportunities areacted on. These benefits extend beyond
individual reward or satisfaction to include:
Societal prosperity,
Organisational effectiveness,
Community wellbeing, andPersonal development.
Given the multifaceted nature of thesebenefits and the lack of a unified
understanding to date, the requirement
to establish a clear and concise definitionof Meaningful Work for young people isfurther justified – and is a critical next
step to improving the world of work for
all young people.
Establishing a unified definition will
provide a common goal, offering guidance
for future policy reform and workforce
investments by employers, and empower
young people to effectively express theirwants and needs.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Young people
and work

13

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

The global context and existing research
The world of work is changing rapidly.
Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic,
the rise of advanced technology suchas Artificial Intelligence and ongoingsocial, economic, and political tensions
have transformed the work landscape.
Consequently, the work that young people
are entering today looks markedly different
to the work of yesterday.

But, this relationship works both ways:
work is also an important part of life foryoung people. Young people spend muchof their life working in some capacity, andcare deeply about their purpose in work.7
According to the 2024 Gen Z and Millennial
Report, 44% of Gen Zs and 40% ofMillennials turn down employers that don’talign with their values.

Approximately 1.1 billion young
people from the Global South alone
are entering the workforce in thenext decade.3 The contribution andimpact of young people in work today isimportant and powerful – they are often
a source of energy, new perspectives andideas, adaptability and early adoption of
new technologies and innovations.4 In
addition, the lowest estimated losses tothe economy resulting from young people
being NEET (Not in Education, Employment
or Training) was just under £22 billion or
US$28 billion in the United Kingdom alone.5

Therefore, it is no surprise that there isextensive research on young people andtheir relationship to work. Recent researchhighlights three critical issues that young
people face:

Research suggests that when young people
engage in Meaningful Work, employers
benefit: engagement leads to better
workforce loyalty and more opportunities
for skills and leadership development.6

Global youth unemployment rates
remain significantly higher than the overall
unemployment rate,8 despite some
progress in certain countries. The 2024
Gen Z and Millennial Report highlightsthat unemployment is the second biggest
concern for young people behind cost ofliving. Young people are also more likely
to be engaged in ‘bad’ jobs with limitedsocial and legal protections.9 Lack ofmeaningful employment opportunities
puts young people at risk of falling behind,which can have far-reaching consequencesin various aspects of their lives. The ILO
estimates that if the “prevailing youth
unemployment rate is reduced to thelevel of adult unemployment, global GDP

3

United Nations, World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision. ESA/P/WP.228 (2012)

4

Unicef, 6 top benefits of hiring young talent, (2019)

would increase by between 4.4 and 7.0
percent”, approximately USD$3.7 trillion.10
These consequences include lower social
capital,11 or taking on work below theireducation or experience level that can leadto ‘career scarring’ and long-term lags incareer and income growth.12
Young people also seem to feel less hopefor the future. In 2023, some 75% of Gen
Zs and 73% of Millennials agreed that theworld is at a tipping point and less thanhalf are optimistic for the future.13 A year
on in 2024 this fear remains, with only asmall proportion of young people (32%)
reporting that their country's economic
situation will improve in the next year, while
even fewer (27%) have confidence in thepolitical and social outlook. Cost of living
remained the top concern for respondents
in 2024, followed by unemployment,
climate change, mental health and crimeand safety.
Furthermore, a considerable number
expressed uncertainty regarding
Generative AI (25%) and concerns about
the potential impact of climate change(22%) on their future employment.
This highlights the significant challenges
that young people are impacted by,
but often have little say over.14

5University of York, Estimating the life-time cost of NEET: 16-18 year olds not in Education, Employment or Training, (2010)6D eloitte, The purpose-driven professional: Harnessing the power of corporate social impact for talent development, (2015)

7

Deloitte, Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, op. cit.

8

OECD, Labour Statistics: Unemployment rates, (2024)

9

ILO, There cannot be decent work for all without decent work for youth, (2023)

10

ILO, Recovery in Youth Employment is still lagging, (2022)

11

The Conversation, China’s youth unemployment problem has become a crisis we can no longer ignore, (2023)

12

Forbes, Career Scarring Is A Thing. Here’s What To Do, (2020)

13

Deloitte, Global 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, (2024)

14

Ibid

14

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Compounding these challenges is a youth mental health crisis that is reaching boiling point, with only about half of young people
reporting their mental health as being good in the past year.15 Some 40% of Gen Zs and 35% of Millennials report that they feel pressured
all of the time, with pressures outside of work like cost of living and climate change also impacting young people’s wellbeing.16 This has
devastating consequences, with suicide the fourth leading cause of death in young people aged 15 – 29,17 underscoring the gravity of the
youth mental health crisis of today.

Figure 1.2: Critical issues facing young people today

Unemployment

Lack of Hope

Mental HealthYoung people are 3x more
likely to be unemployed
and be in insecure job
arrangements, with little tono social protections.

Only 32% of young people
believe that their country's
economic situation will improvein the next year, while evenfewer (27%) have confidence inthe political and social outlook.

40% of young people reportthey are stressed almost allof the time. Young people
are facing a wellbeingcrisis, feeling unmotivated,unsupported and burnt out.

Source: OECD; ILO; 2024 Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial survey.

Our deep listening adds to this researchbase in an important way – we heard
directly from young people about what is
important to them in their life, what thatmeans to their relationship with work andwhat they need, want and expect fromwork and employers. We heard fromover 10,000 young people around theworld from different backgrounds andstages of life. Importantly, about 45% of
respondents identified as being from anunderrepresented community, allowing
us to better understand any unique life
and work experiences that these young
people face.

Our research affirmed that the three issues
above are prevalent for young people
around the world –

15

Ibid

16

Ibid

17

W
 orld Health Organisation, Mental Health of Adolescents, (2021)

15

About 1 in 4 young people
surveyed (22%) are currently notworking but are looking for work
Just under 1 in 2 young people
surveyed (43%) anticipate thatthe economic conditions of theircountry will have a negative
impact on their future work, andAbout 1 in 3 young people
surveyed (31%) expect to needmental health or wellbeing
support in the future.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

However, our deep listening has delved
much deeper than just these threepillars and investigated three focus
areas – experiences, connections andaspirations – to better understand how
exactly young people are experiencing andapproaching their work today. This provides
valuable insight into the key barriers thatyoung people face and the supports thatthey need to unlock opportunities andaspirations to build sustainable careers.
This report also highlights the importanceof the ecosystem of support around young
people. This ecosystem is critical andincludes organisations from government,
business, and civil society, and individuals

young people hold personal relationships
with, such as friends and family.
The multilateral ecosystem provides
assistance and empowerment to young
people in a variety of ways, and across
many aspects of life. Figure 1.3 outlines the
key players in a young person’s ecosystemof support.

Figure 1.3: The ecosystem of support for young people
Governments to ensure basic worker rights are upheld
through information, regulation and enforceable laws

Employers to provide development,
training, mentoring, and commitment tolifelong learning in partnership with theiremployees

Young People to use standards tonavigate their careers, evaluate potential
employers or advocate for their rights

Everyone has apart to play
Business and corporations to leadthe way in particular growth sectors of
economies creating new entry level jobs,
coordinated work placements and training

Source: Deloitte and YMCA.

The work ecosystems undertake becomesincreasingly important as we consider
the case for change. Businesses andsupporting organisations will need to work
collaboratively, alongside young people,
to understand how we can best overcome
current challenges that young people faceat work – to support young people reach
their full potential and pave the path for amore sustainable, inclusive and equitableworld of work.

16

Schools and communities to ensure
equitable access to opportunities,
experiences and to ensure noyoung person is left behind

Non-Government Organisations
Advocate and facilitate relationships between
young people and the world of work

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Barriers towork for young
people17

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order“I want to improve myskills and secure my
future"With the world of work rapidly changing,young people are struggling to reach
their full potential. UNICEF found that one
third of young people feel that the skills
development and training offerings available
to them are misaligned to their work goals,18
and young people are often engaged inlower paying work that may hamper theirability to earn a decent income and develop
their long-term aspirations for work.19

Experiences at work
Importantly, we find that for many
young people around the world, work
is a positive experience. Our survey
found that about 63% of working young
people feel positive or very positive about
their current work. And for young people,
positive experiences have been largely
driven by getting an opportunity to build
skills and experience, feeling connected tothe team or organisation, and engaging inpurposeful work.
This is not just important for young people,
but for their employers too: positive worker
experiences can provide young people
with a sense of belonging, inclusion and job
satisfaction, support their wellbeing andgrowth and development, instil confidence
in leaders, and make them feel respected
and valued.20
However, the survey also highlightsthat about 1 in 3 young people feelneutral or negative about their work.

This is a substantial finding and highlightsthat many young people are facing
significant challenges to access and engage
in work which must be addressed.
The biggest driver of negative experiences
was a lack of fair and reasonable pay andbenefits, reported by about 30% of all
respondents. This was followed by limited
opportunities to build skills and experience(25%) and a lack of flexible working
hours (23%).
As young people transition through life
phases, certain negative experiences
become more pronounced. Older cohorts(26+) are more likely to have negative
experiences around fair and reasonable
pay (34%) and with lack of career
progression (27%) than younger cohorts(25% and 19% respectively). This reflects
changing work goals as young people
gain more experience and take on morefinancial responsibilities.

Chart 1.1: I’ve had the following negative experiences in my current/most recent job (Top 5):

29%

A lack of fair and reasonable pay and beneﬁts
A lack of opportunities to build skills and experience25%

A lack of ﬂexible working hours

23%

A lack of career progression opportunities

23%

A lack of ﬂexible working locations

20%
0%

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 6,280.

18

UNICEF, A third of youth surveyed globally by UNICEF say their education
is not preparing them with the skills to get jobs, (2020)19

Drew Gardiner and Dr. Micheline Goedhuys, Youth Aspirations andthe Future of Work: A Review of the Literature and Evidence, International
Labour Organisation, Working Paper, (2020)20

World Economic Forum, New model of worker experience can helporganisations drive growth, retention and resilience World Economic
Forum, New model of employee experience can help organisations
drive growth, retention and resilience, (2023)

18

10%

20%

30%

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Barriers to work
When young people were asked to selectall the barriers they were facing, the mostcommon responses were: not having theright skills, qualifications or experiences(38% of respondents), poor economic orsocial conditions (31%) and access to theright support (29%; see Chart 1.2).
Discrimination was a relatively infrequently
reported barrier for respondents overall,
but was more common for those fromunder-represented communities (6%)
compared to well-represented groups(3%). Among those who experienced
discrimination, the most prevalent types
reported were race and ethnicity (21%),culture and language (16%), and sexuality
and gender identity (11%). These findings
highlight the persistent challenges facedby under-represented communities,
underscoring the need for continued
efforts to promote inclusivity and eradicate
discriminatory practices.
Skills, qualifications and experiences being
the number one barrier to work for young
people, is not surprising. The mismatch
between the skills needed by workplaces

and the skills actually being developed
is well-known, particularly as the worklandscape continues to change rapidly. The
World Economic Forum estimates that 44%
of core skills are expected to change in thenext five years.21
This also highlights the disconnect between
the skills needed for work, and what isbeing taught in educational institutions.22
Some two thirds of the global youth labour
force fail to reach the minimum level of skill
required to compete in the international
economy (i.e. they are unable to draw
direct inferences or reliably employ basic
conventions to solve simple problems).23
Indeed, the global economy would losean estimated US$10 trillion by 2030 asa result of “unmet” education needs”. 24
Furthermore, 75% of the global youth
labour force lack the full set of skills
needed for employment.25
Unsurprisingly, the age of respondents
influenced the barriers they identified, with
18 – 25-year-olds (41%) being more likely toview skills and experience as a hindrance toemployment compared to those aged 26+(31%). This aligns with the fact that young

Chart 1.2: Barriers for young people achieving their future work goals (Top 5)
Skills, Qualiﬁcations or Experience

38%

Living in a country with poor economic
or social conditions

31%

Access to the right support

29%

Lack of time (e.g. because of study
or home duties)

24%

Lack of technology

21%
0%

10%

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,600.

21

World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report, (2023)

22

UNICEF, "Around 3 in 4 youth lack skills needed for employment, new reportsays", press release, (2022)

23

International Monetary Fund, The Basic Skills Gap (2022)

24

 NESCO, “The price of inaction: The global private, fiscal, and social costs ofU
children and youth not learning”, (2024)

25

UNICEF, "Around 3 in 4 youth lack skills needed for employment", (2022)

26

Deloitte, Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey, (2024)

19

20%

30%

40%

people in this age group are often entering
the workforce for the first time.
As young people age, the impact of
economic and social conditions as a barrier
is more strongly felt, becoming the mostcommon barrier for 26+ year olds. This is
likely due to increasing financial pressures,with 40% of Millennials concerned about
cost of living pressures compared to 34%
of Gen Z.26
Education attainment also plays a criticalrole in young people attaining the skills,
qualifications and experiences they need
for work. Work skills are a bigger barrier for
those without formal education or lower
levels of education. Half of all respondents
with no formal education placed skills as
a barrier to their work, compared to an
average of 33% for young people withany form of tertiary education. For young
people with higher levels of educational
attainment, their biggest barriers shift
to other areas such as the social andeconomic conditions of their country(37% from tertiary educated respondents).

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

50%
39%

40%

The importance of future technical and digital skills
was particularly prevalent for young people with lower
levels of education. Over half (58%) of all young people
with no formal education placed a significant emphasison the need for future technical and digital skills(Chart 1.5).
Conversely, highly educated young people tended
to prioritise leadership and management skills,
perhaps to complement existing strong technicalskills and to reflect higher leadership and managerial
responsibilities (Chart 1.6).

28%

Postgraduate

Bachelor

0%

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,600.

Chart 1.4: Skill that young people think will help the most in the future

Digital skills (e.g. artiﬁcial intelligence)
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
14%

20%

Technical skills for my industry(e.g. using speciﬁc equipment)

6%
Leadership and management skills

8%
17%

9%
12%

14%

Communication skills
Skills to help me run a business
Financial skills (e.g. ﬁnancial literacy)
Other

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,890.

27

World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report, (2023)

28

Ibid

29

Dell Technologies, Future-Proof: Elevating the voice of Gen Z to shape the economies of tomorrow, (2023)

20

34%

20%

Over a third (34%) of all respondents said technical ordigital skills were the most important for future work.
This aligns with the rapid technological change that theworld of work has seen over the last two decades – andmost recently in the emergence of Generative AI.
Employers are aware of this challenge with 59%
of companies believing digital skills will impact
employability the most in the future.28 Yet, many young
people have limited digital skills – Dell Technologies’
survey found that only 44% of young people had only
ever been taught “very basic” digital skills, and 12% had
no training at all.29

39%

Apprenticeship/certiﬁcation

When we asked young people which one skill they
considered the most important for their future work,
the most commonly cited was digital skills (20%),
followed by critical thinking (17%) and technical skills(14%). These findings align strongly with researchfrom WEF which found the top three most important
future skills to be creative thinking, analytical thinking
and technological literacy.27 The least commonly cited‘important’ skills were literacy and numeracy skills (1%),
and networking skills (3%). This was also in line with
WEF findings, which highlighted a lack of demand forengagement skills in the future.

60%

Primary/
elementary/grade

Future skills

Chart 1.3: Young people who lack skills, qualifications or experience byeducation level

No formal
education

However, even around 1 in 4 (28%) of the mosthighly educated young people, with postgraduate or
doctorate degrees, still identified not having the rightskills, qualifications or experiences as a barrier for
future work. This highlights the mismatch between
the education and training that young people areundertaking, and current employer expectations or
skill requirements for work.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Chart 1.5: Skill requirements for young people with lower levels of
education

Gender also played a role in which skills young
people consider to be the most important forthem. Only 17% of women considered digitalskills to be the most important, compared to
25% of male respondents. This may reflect theexisting digital gender divide, where womencontinue to be significantly under-represented
in technology roles and businesses, with lower
digital adoption rates too.30

Postgraduate
Bachelor
Apprenticeship/certiﬁcation
Primary/elementary/grade
No formal education
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Technical skills for my industry (e.g. using speciﬁc equipment)
Digital skills (e.g. artiﬁcial intelligence)
Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,840.

Chart 1.6: Skill requirements for young people with higher levels of
education

All in all, these findings highlight that young
people are facing significant skills gaps, withmany young people more educated than everbut still unable to engage in work. Education
institutions and employers must work together tominimise the current skills gap hindering young
people from achieving meaningful employment
and ensure that the skills and knowledge thatyoung people are being taught are relevant andvaluable in preparing them for work.

Postgraduate
Bachelor
Apprenticeship/certiﬁcation
Primary/elementary/grade
No formal education
0%

5%

10%

15%

Leadership and management skills
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,840.

30

UNICEF, What we know about the gender digital
divide for girls, (2021)

31

OECD, Bridging the Digital Gender Divide: Include,
Upskill, Innovate, (2018)

21

20%

On the other hand, women were far more likely
than men to believe human skills to be themost important, with 11% and 19% of women
believing communication skills and criticalthinking skills would be the most important for
their futures, compared to 6% and 15% of men.
These differences may reflect engrained socialand cultural norms – women are often assumed
to possess more ‘soft’ skills compared to men’s‘hard’ skills, and this perceived importance may
be playing out in their responses.31

25%

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work OrderThe role of entrepreneurship foryoung people

Entrepreneurship allows young people to engage inwork in new and different ways. It has allowed young
people to expand their opportunities, improve theirskills, pursue their interests, and engage in more
flexible work that suits their needs.

Chart 1.7: Do young people want to start their own business in thenext 24 months?

Youth entrepreneurship is also becoming increasingly
important in driving future economic growth andaddressing pressing challenges for the world, such as
climate change and social and economic inequity.32

22%

Currently, 8% of surveyed young people around theworld own their own business. However, 40% of young
people aspire to start their own business in the next
24 months. Much of this enthusiasm has come fromdeveloping (45%) rather than developed countries(17%) as entrepreneurship emerges as a ticket toemployment and economic growth.

29%

The top things young people have outlined they needin order to start their own business are more financial
support (19%), work experience (18%), and education/
skill opportunities (15%). Notably, developing countries
place a higher emphasis on acquiring work experience
compared to developed economies, who favour
networking assistance.
As more and more young people turn toentrepreneurial endeavours for work, and economies
see strong benefits to growth and activity, particularly
in developing regions, business and education
institutions will need to strengthen their support.
This may be through the adoption of integrated lifelong learning and employment models that facilitatecontinuous transitions between work, learning andpassion projects.

32

Yes
40%

No
8%

UnsureSource: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,600.

Chart 1.8: The top things young people need when thinking aboutbuilding a business:

Financial support

19%

More work experience18%

More education/skill
development opportunities

15%

0%

10%

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 4,770.

World Economic Forum, Why quality education is the foundation of entrepreneurship and economic growth, (2023)

22

I already have my own business

20%

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Key takeaways

Work is a neutral or negative
experience for about 1 in 3 young
people today. The biggest barriers
that young people face in achieving
their work goals include not having
the right skills, qualifications orexperiences (38% of respondents),
poor economic or social conditions(31%) and access to the rightsupport (29%). The barrier of skills
is more prevalent for some young
people than others – particularly
those from younger age cohorts
and those with lower levels of
educational attainment.

Despite being more educated thanever, young people are facing asignificant skills gap, and are unable
to access and engage in work thatmeets their needs and aspirations.
Education institutions and employers
must work together to bridge thecurrent gap between educationand employability, and ensure thatthe skills and knowledge that young
people are being taught prepares
young people for modern work.
Existing research suggests this
could be achieved by identifying theskills needs of emerging economies,
leveraging educational institutions
to help youth obtain those skills,
and creating a system to validate
skills with certifications. This process
would require a collaborative
initiative from government,
education and input from youth.33

As more and more young people
turn to entrepreneurial endeavours
for work, particularly in developing
regions, businesses and education
institutions will need to strengthen
their support for young people toenable and accelerate their ability
to achieve their entrepreneurial
aspirations. This should be throughfocused initiatives (such as: theestablishment of the Rahul Bajaj
Centre of Excellence on Skills)34
that allow young people to ideate
and develop their businesses sothat young people can fulfil theirpotential in new and personally
meaningful types of work.

33

W orld Economic Forum, How to address the widening youth skills gap, (2022)

34

Confederation of Indian Industry, The CII – Rahul Bajaj Centre of Excellence on Skills launched at CII Annual Business Summit to impact 10 million youth over 5 years, (2024)

23

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work OrderThe role ofsupport24

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order“It’s not really easy for me,
I do everything for myself"
The transition to work is never easy for young people as
they face new and different challenges, which they have notencountered before. For many, this transition can prove longand hard.
The role of connection – with those in their immediate
support system and the broader community – playsa critical role across various areas of work for young
people.
This starts as early as the job search and application process.
While a notable share of young people found their current
work after seeing a job advertisement (38%), about 1 in 4
young people have found work through family or friends (26%)
and about 17% have found work through connections withpeople in their networks (Chart 1.9).
For younger cohorts, the role of connection is even more
pronounced, with about 1 in 3 (32%) 18 – 25 year olds finding
work through family and friends. This likely means that younger
cohorts are relying heavily on their connections for getting a‘foot in the door’, before then turning to more traditional job
advertisements and connections within their work networks
for subsequent roles.
Finding a job is only one part of the equation in being
successful in the workforce – young people also needto feel prepared going into their role.
Unsurprisingly school, education or training was cited most(63%) as being helpful in preparing young people for work
(Chart 1.10).
Almost half (48%) of young people said that previous work
experiences had been helpful. Those aged 26+ were more
likely to identify previous work experience as having helped
them prepare for their current position – 61% for 26+,
compared to 39% for 18 – 25. This may reflect a difference incareer stage, in which learnings from previous work experience
become more important for non-entry level positions.
The third most commonly cited means of preparation wasworking on themselves, identified by 37% of young people.
This could encompass a range of things, such as developing
skills and interests in their own time, improving overall
wellbeing or addressing personal concerns that could interferewith work. This could hold young people in good stead with
continuous learning linked to future-ready skills such as
flexibility, adaptability and resilience,35 with self-efficacyrelated skills high on the list of core skills for the future.36

35

Deloitte, Continuous change necessitates continuous learning, (2022)

36

World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report, (2023)

25

Chart 1.9: I found my current work through: (top 3)

Job advertisement

Family or friend

Referral from industry
connection
0%

10%
26+

20%
18 – 25

30%

40%

Total

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 4,640.

Chart 1.10: The things that have helped me most prepare formy current job are…
The school, education ortraining I’ve completed
Previous work experiences
Working on myself(e.g. improving my wellbeing)
Connections with people
doing similar work
Support from people in
my network
0%
Total

20%

40%
18 – 25

60%
26+

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 7,030.

80%

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Types of support young
people needBut most importantly, what types of
support do young people actually need?
Our survey asked young people thisquestion and found that the mostimportant areas that they need support
with are:Skill development opportunities(58%),
Information about work andeducation opportunities (54%), andFinancial support for work andeducation (45%).
Access to the right support is a significant
challenge for young people. Almost 3 in 10(29%) young people said that they don’t
have the right support they need to achieve
their work aspirations.
The high demand for skill development
opportunities likely reflects lack of skills,
qualifications and experiences being the
top barrier for young people trying toaccess work. Demand for skill development
opportunities is likely to increase as skill
requirements evolve over the coming
years.37

37

Seeking additional information about workand education is particularly pertinent
for younger people, who need to makedecisions about further study or whatwork they would like to do, in a world ofwork impacted by constant change in workand skill requirements. Approximately
59% of 18 – 21 year olds identified theyneeded support to help them find more
information about work and education
opportunities, compared to 44% of 31 –35 year olds, who are likely to have moreestablished careers.
Interestingly, 26 – 30 year olds were most
likely to want support for skill development
opportunities, coaching and mentoring,mental health and wellbeing, andsupport for when they’re facing uncertain
situations. This may be reflective ofyoung people wanting a variety of career
pathways,38 and could reflect an age where
young people are looking to initiate acareer change having already spent a few
years in the workforce.
Notably there were also some significant
differences between respondents fromdeveloping countries and developed
countries (Chart 1.11).
Developing countries in the Global South
have unique work challenges including: adigital divide and limited internet access,39
social and economic inequalities, highunemployment, and conflict.40 Some ofthese challenges are reflected in the typesof support desired by young people.

While access to technology was muchless of an issue for young people indeveloped countries (10%), young people indeveloping countries (27%) identified theywould need more support in this area.
Digital access is critical for young people toparticipate in work. The digital gap between
developed and developing economies is
expected to leave developing economies
further behind as work becomesincreasingly digital.
Financial support for young people indeveloping countries is also required, withalmost 1 in 2 (47%) young people saying it
was an important support for their future,compared to just 1 in 3 (34%) young people
in developed countries.
Additionally, 3 in 5 (56%) young people
in developing countries cited a needfor information on work and education
opportunities, compared to 44% of youth
in developed countries.
There were however supports whichdeveloped countries were more likely
to require. Young people in developing
countries were more likely to require
support for mental health and wellbeing,at almost 2 in 5 (42%) young people.
However, this may reflect both prevalence
and awareness (the latter being lower indeveloping countries).

Ibid

38

World Economic Forum, How to recruit Generation Z workers – and keep them, (2023)

39

 nited Nations, Widening Digital Gap between Developed, Developing States Threatening to Exclude World’s Poorest from Next Industrial Revolution, Speakers Tell Second
U
Committee, (2023)

40

International Labour Organisation, Mutually reinforcing crises have worsened the global employment divide, (2023)

26

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

These regional differences indicate theneed for more targeted support which
recognises and reflects the unique
circumstances faced by young people.
Social circles are a critical source of
support for young people. When asked
which people and groups they would go
to for help, 1 in 2 of them (50%) said theywould turn to their parents or guardians forhelp or advice about work right now, and
42% of young people would turn to theirfriends (Figure 1.4). The role of parents
was particularly pronounced for younger
cohorts, with 7 in 10 (68%) 18 – 21 year
olds turning to parents – by far the biggest
source of support for this age group.
Older cohorts were more likely to turn topartners or significant others.

Online sources of help and advice, suchas the internet, social media and mobile
apps, are also a support for 3 in 10 (28%)
young people, reflecting digital sources as
a common tool for gathering information
to support decision-making.41

Chart 1.11: In the future, I need help with:
Skill development opportunities
Information about work / education opportunities
Financial support for work / education
Coaching / mentoring support
Support for when I’m facing uncertain situations
Mental health / wellbeing support
Improved pathways into work
Better access to technology
0%

10%
Total

20%

30%

Developing countries

40%

50%

60%

Developed countries

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,730.

Importantly, the type of advice beingsought impacts where support issourced from.
Family and friends were highlighted as the
top source of future support for young
people who are facing uncertain situations(80%), financial support (66%) and mental
health and wellbeing support (71%).
While this reflects the role that personal
circles can play for young people navigating
difficult times, young people are also
turning to family and friends for workrelated forms of support. Young people
also sought support from family andfriends about coaching and mentoring(54%) and for information about work or
education opportunities (64%). Dependingon the diversity of their friends and family,

this may provide few differing perspectives
and present a challenge for young people
in how they expand their awareness andaccess to opportunities.
School and education providers werehighly sought after on topics related to skill
development opportunities (54%) or better
access to technology (50%).
Interestingly, young people do not consider
employers as their primary source of
support across work-related supports
such as skill development, coaching andmentoring, and information about workand education opportunities.
Non-government organisations operating
on a community and local developmentlevel are also highlighted for their strongrole in the support ecosystem for young
people, and are rated the second mostrelied-upon sources of support for young
people facing uncertain situations (35%),
opportunities for skill development (51%),
better access to technology (48%), coaching
and mentoring support (48%) and mental
health and wellbeing support (35%).42
As important social infrastructure,community organisations contribute tocreating and maintaining vital connections
and relationships, particularly for groups
facing social and economic disadvantage.
These contributions can be strengthened
through continuing to provide support andtargeted work-related interventions foryoung people where they need them most.

41Rod D. Roscoe, Carola Grebitus, Joseph O'Brian, Adam C. Johnson, and Irfan Kula, "Online information search and decision making: Effects of web search stance",
Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 56, March 2016, pp. 103-118.

42

Danielle Hutcheon and Artur Steiner, "Role of community-led organisations in creating social infrastructure for the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged populations: aqualitative study", The Lancet, (2022)

27

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Figure 1.4: Where young people go for supports

When I need help with advice about my work or
career, I go to….

01

Parent(s) or guardian(s)

02

50%

41%

of respondents

To get information
about work/education
opportunities...
1. Family / Friends

03

Friend(s)27%of respondents

To get skill development
opportunities...

Internet, mobile apps,social mediaof respondents

To get mental health or
wellbeing support...

To get improved
pathways into work...

1. Family / Friends

1. Community organisations

2. Employers

1. School / education
providers

2. Community organisations

2. Employers

3. Community organisations

2. Community organisations

3. School / education
providers

3. Family / Friends

3. Employers

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 2,132 – 9,730 (depending on sub question).

Key takeaways

Young people today need support
more than ever to help them overcome
work related challenges. It is essential
for businesses and supportingorganisations to gain an understandingof the specific types of support thatyoung people require, so they caneffectively engage with young people
and develop programs and resourcesthat cater to their needs and enable
and accelerate their ability to pursue
their life and work aspirations.

28

Support is not a ‘one size fits
all’ proposition and as such themechanisms and effectiveness ofthe support that young people need,want and expect, varies greatly acrossdifferent regions and demographics.
Targeted programs and resources
will help to deliver support that is
appropriate, relevant and recognises
the diverse perspectives andcircumstances that underserved
communities face.

Young people are increasingly relying
on their personal networks rather
than the wider community for supportand employment opportunities. They
continue to be uncertain about how
to approach opportunities for skill
enhancement, accessing mentoring,and leveraging technology. It is essential
for businesses to take a more proactiverole in informing young people about
the diverse opportunities available toenhance their skills and increase theiremployability.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

What young
people expect
and hope forthe future ofwork
29Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order“Sometimes it’s hard toknow what to do next"
With the world of work evolving, what
young people want from their work
differs from previous generations. 43
When asked about what was mostimportant to them in future work,
opportunities to build skills and experienceemerged as the clear winner for young
people (Chart 1.12). Approximately 3 in
4 (74%) young people identified this as

important to them – far outranking thenext most important, fair and reasonable
pay and benefits (46%).
Despite this, 75% of young people aged
15 – 24 are not on the right course to havethe skills they need for work.44 This may befurther exacerbated by the need to reskill
over the coming years as work and skills
evolve further.45
The desire for fair and reasonable
pay speaks to young people’s current
experiences in their work and broader
economic conditions. Unfair pay has

been cited as the biggest driver ofnegative experiences in work. Cost ofliving pressures are likely to play a rolein the perception of what is “fair andreasonable” pay.
Additionally, job security also ranked
highly, with 2 in 5 (38%) young people
considering it as an important componentof their future work. This reflects young
people’s current concerns about job
security,46 with some anticipating that
insecure work may even becomea “fact of life for young people”.47

Chart 1.12: Things I want from my work: (top 5)
74%

Opportunities to build my skills and experience
Fair and reasonable pay and beneﬁts (e.g. leave, healthcare)45%

A sense of connection to my team or organisation

44%

Job security (e.g. safe and regular work)

37%

Flexible working hours (e.g. control over when I work)

37%

0%

20%

Source: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,722.

It is unsurprising that fair and reasonable
pay and job security are important foryoung people. Almost half (43%) of all young
people can’t or are struggling to pay for
their basic needs, and a further 1 in 4 (25%)
often have little or no money left over forthemselves once these needs are taken careof. The cost of living also remains a matter ofserious concern for Millennials and Gen Z.

43World Economic Forum, How to recruit Generation Z workers – and keep them, (2023)

44

Generation Unlimited, Talk About Skilling, (n.d)

45World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report, (2023)

46

F orbes, Workers Around The World Are Facing A Job Security Crisis, Survey of 35,000 Shows, (2023)

47

World Bank, Job insecurity is a fact of life for young people, (2017)

30

40%

60%

80%

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Connection to their team or organisationand purposeful work ranked highly foryoung people, coming in at 44% and 42%,
respectively. This aligns with other researchwhich found that roughly nine in 10 Gen
Zs (86%) and Millennials (89%) say having
a sense of purpose in their work is very orsomewhat important to their overall job
satisfaction and well-being. When people
feel that their work is important and thatthey are contributing to something bigger
than themselves, they feel more fulfilled
and satisfied with their lives.
Additionally, flexibility in the workplace
has become more commonplace since
the onset of the pandemic. In 2023,
approximately 3 in 4 young peopleindicated they would consider looking for
new work if they were asked to work on sitefull-time.48

Similarly, 31% of surveyed young peopleindicated a flexible working location was
important for their work. Despite this,on-site mandates have returned, and 2 in 3
young people have either been called backto the office full-time or part time.49

Of most concern to young people is the
economic conditions in their country, with
43% of young people anticipating it will
have a negative impact on their work in
the future, including 1 in 5 (18%) young
people who believe it will have a major
negative impact for them (Chart 1.13). This
may reflect numerous current economic
concerns for young people, including: costof living and financial pressures,51 being
excluded from economic participation
due to high unemployment and start-up
barriers,52 and potential long-term scarring
effects from ongoing labour market
disruption during the pandemic.53

The impact of this has been mixed,with many feeling more organised andconnected to their work (27%) and somefeeling a greater financial burden (19%) or aloss in productivity (18%).50
Young people are also likely to
be impacted by the uncertain,increasingly complex, and rapidlychanging world of work.

Chart 1.13: I expect my future work to be impacted by the following:

The economic conditions in my country

43%

The social or political conditions in my country

18%

38%

Climate change

22%

29%

24%

9%

8%

39%

5%

9%

28%

Increasing casual work or gig work
(e.g. on-demand work)

18%

29%

Use of technology or artiﬁcial intelligence

18%

20%

53%

Hybrid and remote working

15%

25%

47%

Negative

Neutral34%

Deloitte, Global 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, (2024)

49

Ibid

50

Ibid

51

Ibid

52

OECD, Give youth a chance, (n.d)

53

ILO, An update on the youth labour market impact of the COVID-19 crisis, (2021)

7%

11%
4% 5%
7%

40%

60%

80%

Positive

No impact

UnsureSource: World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey; n = 9,300 – 9,825 (depending on sub question).

48

5% 7%

30%

19%

20%

4% 6%

27%

Changing demand for the work I want to do

0%

31

29%

7%
100%

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

While there has been a slight increase in
the optimism of young people regarding
the future in 2024,54 other broader macro
trends continue to be of concern, with 38%
of young people anticipating that social orpolitical conditions in their country will havea negative impact on their future work.
Young people were significantly impacted
by the social and economic consequencesof the pandemic55 and their sentimenttowards this is likely influencing theirpessimistic outlook.
Very few young people believe that social,political and economic conditions will
have no impact on their futures. Just 4%
of young people believe there will be no
impact from economic conditions on their
future work and 5% believe the same forsocial or political conditions.
These were the only two trends where
young people showed a clear negative
outlook that outweighed a positive outlook.
Over the past year young people haveelevated their prioritisation for climate
action,56 as general uncertainty continued
to increase.57 There was a reasonably
even mix between positive and negative
outlooks amongst young people on climatechange, with 30% of young people believing
climate change would have a positive
impact on their future work, and 29%
believing it would have a negative impact.
Approximately 1 in 10 (9%) young people
believed that it would have no impact on
their work, and 1 in 12 (8%) were unsure
about the impact it would have.

Older cohorts were also more likely to thinkthat hybrid and remote working would
have a major positive impact for them.
Almost double the number of 31 – 35-yearolds believe this will have a major positive
impact compared to 18 – 21 year olds.
This likely reflects the increased desire
for flexibility as young people begin toenter new life phases and have increased
responsibilities.
Changing demand for the work young
people want to do was also viewed
positively by young people, with close to
4 in 10 (39%) believing this would have apositive impact for them. This may indicatethat young people are confident they cancontinue to engage in interesting work in
the future.
Young people were also confident that
increasing casual or gig work would be
beneficial, with almost 2 in 5 (34%) seeing
this as having a positive impact. The gig
economy can allow for increased flexibility
and autonomy over work, both of which
can be seen as beneficial. Many young
people have already realised these benefits
with 1 in 8 (12%) already in gig work.

Almost 1 in 2 (47%) young people believethat hybrid and remote working will have apositive impact on their future work, with
1 in 5 (21%) believing it would have a major
positive impact on them.

54Deloitte, Global 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, (2024), op. cit.

55

OECD, One Step Forwards, Two Steps Backwards? Youth Are Facing an Uncertain Future, (2020)

56

Deloitte, Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey, (2024)

57

UN, Youth in Action, (n.d)

32

In a promising sign for the increasing
digitisation of work and what it means foryoung people’s future work, young people
viewed the impact of the use of technology
and AI in work very positively. Almost 2 in 5(39%) young people believe it would have apositive impact, with 14% believing it would
have a major positive impact. In fact, lessthan 1 in 5 (19%) young people believed it
would have a negative impact, highlighting
how much young people view increasinguse of technology as an opportunity forthem in their work.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Key takeaways

Young people’s work preferences
are changing. What is importantto them in their life and what thatmeans to what they need, wantand expect from work is different
to what previous generations
have prioritised. Employers must
consider what is important toyoung people and modernise theirwork and workplaces accordingly,
to ensure that the things on whichyoung people place importanceare embedded into how work is
designed – not only to ensurethat young people are engaging in
Meaningful Work, but to ensurebusinesses are able to attract,
retain and engage young workers
and enhance performance.

Young people are pessimistic about
the impacts of significant macro
trends, such as social and economic
conditions, on the work they want
to do in the future. Employers,
governments and supportingorganisations need to be actors for
positive social change and continue
to speak out and address the things
young people believe will negatively
impact their futures. Young people
believe that politicians, social justiceand sustainability advocates andbusinesses should take a leading rolein addressing social issues,58 and by
doing so they will further gain thetrust of young people.

Young people often don’t havecontrol or influence on the things
that will impact them most, driving
their negative outlooks on the
future. Businesses and supportingorganisations should empower
young people to make decisions,especially on the things that impact
them most, to foster positive socialchange and support sustainable
societies.59 Within the world ofwork, a third of young people
say that business decisions arestill ‘top-down’ and that worker
feedback is not often acted upon.60
This is likely driving young people’s
feelings of powerlessness overtheir futures, and needs to becorrected to ensure young people
are given a seat at the table on
important matters that will
impact them.

58Deloitte, Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey, (2023)

59

 N Economic and Social Council, "Full Participation of Youth in Decision-making Key to Shaping Brighter Future for All, Social Development Commission Hears as
U
General Debate Continues", press release, fifty-sixth session, 2018. Available at: https://press.un.org/en/2018/soc4860.doc.htm.

60

ibid

33

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

The case forchange34

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work OrderThe research and insights from young people have uncovered three critical
opportunities that must be unlocked to enable and accelerate Meaningful Work.
These opportunities are critical in driving benefits such as greater health and well-being, stronger skills andincreased employability, progress toward equity and increasing belonging. Meaningful Work also benefits society,with the successful engagement of young people an opportunity to contribute to economic growth and social cohesion.61

Opportunities for change

01

02

03

Current ecosystems, programs andapproaches are siloed, not meeting
young people’s needs and impacting
their ability to reach their potential.

Young people need more support tohelp them find, access and prepare
for Meaningful Work.

The work ecosystem needs toempower young people to minimise
distress and foster positive outlooks.

About 1 in 2 young people needhelp to develop relevant skills andexperience for work and gain more
information about work and education
opportunities.63 Businesses andsupporting organisations therefore
need to understand better the types of
support required. Who young people get
and need support from is also impacting
how they engage with around work,with young people likely to turn to closefamily and friends which may limit theirawareness of available opportunities.

What is important to young people intheir life and how that is shaping what
they need, want and expect from workand employers in the future is different
to previous generations.64 They are
set to be impacted by global trends
such as economic uncertainty, climatechange, increasing geopolitical tensions,
technology adoption and digital literacy
and the ongoing impacts of Covid,65 all ofwhich are shaping their outlooks for theirwork futures. Additionally, the ecosystem
around them is falling short of delivering
the change young people need, leading to
impacts such as lack of trust and negative
outlooks on their futures.

Young people are having negative
experiences relating to their pay andbenefits, the ability to build relevant
skills and experiences, flexible working
conditions and career progression
opportunities. Further, the biggest barriers
to future work goals include not having theright skills, qualifications or experiences,poor economic or social conditions in theircountry, and not having the right support.62
The skills mismatch plays a large role inthis – young people do not feel like they
have the right skills to succeed at work.
This reflects limited collaboration acrossdifferent institutions that young peopleinteract with throughout their life: fromschools and training, to employers, to thebroader system of support around them.
To address this, current programs
and approaches will need to change.
This includes scaling up work processes
that are successful, and looking to change
those that aren’t. Working together acrossinstitutions will be critical to ensuring
young people are able to live up to theirpotential, supported with life-long learningand employment models focused on
facilitating constant transitions between
work, learning and passion projects.

By providing integrated, holistic andfocused support and resources foryoung people, businesses, supportingorganisations and their families andfriends can better support young people
and empower them on their journey toMeaningful Work.

61

OECD, Youth employment and social policies, (2022)

62

World YMCA and Deloitte, Youth Meaningful Work survey analysis, (2024)

63

Ibid.

64

World Economic Forum, How to recruit Generation Z workers – and keep them, (2024)

65

YMCA and Accenture, Meaningful Work Adaptive Strategy, (2023)

35

There is an opportunity for businesses
and governments, to work with young
people to design new approaches thatwill help to minimise these impacts andearn their trust again so that young
people’s work and personal futures
are in safe hands. The work ecosystem
must also bring a holistic and integrated
approach to education, employability, andentrepreneurship to facilitate continuoustransitions between work learningand passion projects, education andemployment, and informal to formal work.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

What are the potential
benefits if we areable to harness theseopportunities?
The benefits of working on theseopportunities are widespread.
At the individual level, Meaningful Work
opportunities help young people develop
essential skills and experience while also
progressing their careers, leading toincreased productivity, job satisfaction
and long-term professional success.66
Our survey found that 75% of respondents
indicated that development opportunities
currently contribute to a positive workplace
experience, and 74% of respondents
indicated that opportunities for developing
skills and experience are important for
their future careers.
Moreover, Meaningful Work can:Offer individuals a means of livelihood,
Foster a sense of confidence, purpose,and achievement,
Facilitate positive relationships andcommunity inclusion, andProvide a platform for structured
routines.67
For individuals with mental healthconditions, meaningful employment cancontribute to recovery, promote inclusion,
enhance confidence, and improve social
functioning.68

At the organisation/community level,
increasing opportunities for Meaningful
Work for young people can contributeto ongoing success and sustainabilityof organisations, communities, andsocial networks.
For example, Meaningful Work can leadto a 33% increase in productivity andenhanced innovation within organisations,with young employees contributing fresh
perspectives, creativity, and a willingness tochallenge the status quo, ultimately drivingorganisational growth.69 Recent researchsuggestions that organisations who
focus on unleashing human performancethrough mutually reinforcing human andbusiness outcomes are 1.75 times more
likely to achieve desired business outcomesand 1.9 times more likely to drive morepositive human outcomes.70
Organisations that offer opportunities forskill development, career advancement,
and meaningful contributions are more
likely to retain top talent and reduceturnover costs.71 This is particularly thecase as young people are increasingly
seeking employers that offer opportunities
for personal growth, social impact, andMeaningful Work experiences.72
At the societal level, having more young
people engaged in Meaningful Work yields
numerous benefits. Gallup's State of the
Global Workplace report found that theemployees who are not engaged or who
are actively disengaged cost the world$8.8 trillion in lost productivity, equivalent
to 9% of global GDP.73

66

Changyi Peng, "A Literature Review of Job Crafting and Its Related Researches",
Journal of Human Resource and Sustainability Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, March 20, 2018

67

World Health Organisation, Mental health at work, (2022)

68

Ibid

69

McKinsey & Company, Making work meaningful from the C-suite to the frontline, (2021)

70

Deloitte, Global Human Capital Trends, (2024)

71

Ibid

72

LinkedIn, Global talent trends 2021: Reskilling for recovery, (2022)

73

Gallup, Employee Engagement Strategies: Fixing the World's $8.8 Trillion Problem, (2022)

74

International Labor Organisation, Global Employment Trends for Youth, (2022)

36

Furthermore, according to the ILO, thecost of youth unemployment in termsof lost productivity and social cohesion
is substantial.74 Better engagement ofyoung people in Meaningful Work can also
promote a healthier and more resilient
society overall.75
From a family and community perspective,
studies have shown that access to quality
education and meaningful employment
opportunities significantly influences young
people's future economic prospects andtheir ability to support their families andcommunities.76
Overall, Meaningful Work holds immense
potential to have a positive impact on
the lives of young people, their families,
employers, and society as a whole.
The benefits extend beyond individual
reward or satisfaction to include societal
prosperity, organisational effectivenessand community wellbeing, and personal
development. Given the multifaceted
nature of these benefits and the lackof a unified understanding to date, therequirement to establish a clear andconcise definition for Meaningful Work foryoung people is further justified – and acritical next step to improving the world ofwork for all young people.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work OrderAppendix A
Youth Meaningful
Work Survey

37

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Survey development
In order to ensure we were capturing and amplifying the voices ofyoung people in articulating what the case for change in Meaningful
Work, the Youth Meaningful Work Survey was delivered by WorldYMCA, in collaboration with Deloitte Australia and delivered byServiceNow.
The Youth Meaningful Work Survey was created by young people,
for young people, and was aimed at understanding the experiences,motivations and aspirations of young people to inspire and drive
meaningful change to empower them with better access, engagementand development in Meaningful Work.
Initial desktop research into key work and workforce trends for young
people were tested and refined by young people to inform the survey
design and focus questions, ensuring the survey was globally relevant
and credible across different geographies and underserved groups.
The survey focused on four key areas:

The experiences of young
people in their current
work situation, including
their current employment
status, their sentimenttowards their current work,
what has helped preparethem for work and views
on positive and negative
work experiences (Note:for young people who had
not worked previously,
only current sentiment andreasons for not working
were researched)

The aspirations of young
people, including what they
consider to be importantfactors and skills for themin the future of work,
anticipated impacts ofmacro-level trends on workand barriers to achieving
their goals

The connections young
people use to navigate
through work, including
current support systems,
future anticipated supports
required and from whom

Demographics of our
respondents, including age,gender identity, location,
education attainment,
financial situation andidentification with
underserved communities(e.g. belonging to a racial /ethnic minority, LGBTQIA+,
disability)

The survey design was tested and validated by a broad group of stakeholders, including with young people drawn from the World YMCA
to act as champions for the survey and other World YMCA leaders and Meaningful Work pillar stakeholders. During the development
process, survey design and approach were also tested with and/or approved by Deloitte legal and quality and risk professionals, certified
organisational psychologists, Deloitte ServiceNow consultants, and academic researchers from the University of Melbourne (Australia) toensure the survey and associated approaches were legally compliant, free from bias and assumptions, accessible and inclusive.

38

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Survey fielding
The survey was designed and developed
to be administered online or in-personusing paper surveys. ServiceNow playeda key role in facilitating this by utilizing
their platform to distribute and gather thesurvey data. Both the online and paper
versions of the survey were additionallyoffered in ten languages (English, French,
Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi,
Russian, Arabic, German, Japanese andPortuguese) to ensure global inclusivity andparticipation, with local YMCA Movements
free to provide additional translations fortheir young people if they chose to do so.
Additional supporting resources were also
developed and hosted on a dedicatedwebsite.

39

Survey participation was voluntary, andrespondents were required to provide fullconsent prior to taking the survey and were
provided with a privacy notice outlining
their rights. Respondents remained
anonymous at all times when completingthe survey and at no point during thesurvey were they asked for any informationthat could be used to trace responses
back to a specific individual. Respondents
were also free to skip questions they did
not feel comfortable answering, and only
submitted surveys have been consideredin the analysis of results (regardless of how
many questions they chose to respond to).

The Youth Meaningful Work Survey was
open from October 2023 to March 2024
for any young people aged 18 – 35 years
old worldwide to complete, via an online
ServiceNow platform or in-person using apaper survey. 90+ Youth Champions (YMCA
staff and volunteers) were enlisted fromYMCAs to promote the survey and playeda critical role in driving survey responses
and reaching under-represented groups.
All participation was voluntary, and ten
language options were provided to support
accessibility. During this time, the survey
gathered about 10,100 responses.

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Survey demographics - By country
This survey included participants from about 120 countries, and approximately 81% of the respondents were from developing countries.
The United Nations (UN) developing and developed country classifications were used in the analysis. Countries are ranked using the
Human Development Index (HDI) which combines income, life expectancy, and education. Note that only countries with samples 10 orabove are listed below, and all counts are rounded to the nearest 10.

Country

Count

CountryCount

Ethiopia

1100

Liberia70

Mongolia

960

Germany

70

Philippines

790

Singapore

70

Bangladesh

580

Palestine

60

China, Hong Kong SAR

570

Togo

60

Sierra Leone

520

Peru

60

Kenya

480

Argentina

50

Australia

360

Gambia50

Colombia

350

Other

40

Sri Lanka

340

Niger

40

Spain

310

Albania40

Cameroon

300

South Sudan

30

Zimbabwe

260

Malta

30

Zambia

250

China

30

Nigeria

220

Sweden30

Canada

210

Italy

20

Madagascar

190

Brazil

20

India

160

Cayman Islands

20South Africa

150

American Samoa

20

United States of America

130

Finland

20

Japan

130

Lebanon20

Nicaragua

120

Afghanistan

20

Romania110

Switzerland

10

North Macedonia

110

Algeria10

United Kingdom

100

Tanzania, United Republic of

10

Ghana

80

Other

60

Mexico80

Ukraine80

All countries

10,110Developing countries

8,210

Developed countries

1,830

40

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Survey demographics - By Age
This survey covered just over 10,100 participants, with 67% between the ages of 18 – 25.

Age

Count

18-21

3630

22-25

3110

26-30

1960

31-35

1080

35+

240

Prefer not to say

100

All respondents

10,11018 – 25

6,730

26+

3,280

Survey demographics - By GenderThis survey covered just over 10,100 participants, with 54% identifying as female.

Age

Count

Female

5440

Male

4230

Other

300

Prefer not to say

140

All respondents

10,11041

Crisis of Opportunity: Young People Navigating the New Work Order

Survey demographics - By Education
The survey collected data from individuals at different educational levels, with apprenticeships/certifications comprising 48% of thesample.

Age

Count

No formal education

750

Primary/elementary/grade

740

Apprenticeship/certification

4860

Bachelor

2370

Postgraduate

610

Prefer not to say

380

Other (please specify)400

All respondents

10,110By ‘Under-represented’ communities
This survey covered just over 10,100 participants, with 42% under-represented in their respective communities. For a person to beconsidered under-represented, they identified with one of the following categories: a person with a disability, part of a religious minority
group, LGBTQIA+, Indigenous / First Nations, neurodivergent, part of a racial / ethnic minority group, refugee / recent immigrant.

Age

Count

Not

4430

Under-represented

4290

Prefer not to say

1350

N/A
All respondents

42

30
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