KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, August 28, 2026 — Federal Express Corporation (FedEx), one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, and Junior Achievement (JA), one of the world’s largest youth-serving nonprofits, released findings from Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce – Asia Pacific Youth Insights, a new study jointly commissioned by FedEx and JA and published by the JA Institute.
Surveying over 4,200 young people aged 15 to 22 across ten Asia Pacific markets, including 428 respondents in Malaysia, the study offers timely insights into how prepared they feel for future careers, with a focus on practical and entrepreneurial capabilities, global trade knowledge and AI readiness.
The study coincides with the 20th year of the FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge (ITC), marking two decades of collaborative effort to advance entrepreneurship education across Asia Pacific. Since 2007, the program has reached more than 54,000 students across Asia Pacific, helping them build practical business, problem-solving, and cross-cultural collaboration skills through real-world learning experiences focused on global trade.
In Malaysia, 98% of respondents want their education to provide greater exposure to how the working world operates. Digital and technology skills emerged as the country’s top-ranked capability for the next 10 to 15 years, making Malaysia the only market surveyed where these skills ranked first.
“The findings show that Malaysian youth are the only respondents in the region to rank digital skills as their top career priority, while also seeking more opportunities to gain real-world experience,” said Tien Long Woon, managing director, FedEx Malaysia. “As Malaysia’s economy becomes increasingly digital and connected, giving young people opportunities to apply these skills beyond the classroom will be key to building a future-ready workforce. Through our partnership with Junior Achievement, FedEx is helping students gain hands-on experience and develop the confidence to navigate an evolving marketplace.”
Malaysian Youth Prioritize Digital Capabilities and Practical Experience
The report highlights that Malaysian youth want formal education to place greater emphasis on capabilities they can apply as the workplace changes, with a particular focus on strengthening digital and hands-on skills alongside traditional academic content.
Malaysian respondents also report relatively strong confidence in several transferable capabilities. Seven in ten feel confident generating new ideas or solutions, while the same proportion feel confident adapting quickly when plans change. A further 68% feel confident working independently and making decisions without significant guidance.
However, recognizing the importance of adaptability does not always translate into confidence navigating uncertainty. Malaysian respondents report somewhat lower comfort than the regional average when it comes to open-ended problem-solving and unstructured work: only 50% feel comfortable solving problems without an obvious right answer, compared with 55% across Asia Pacific, and 48% are comfortable working without a fixed routine, compared with 56% regionally.
Youth See Entrepreneurial Thinking as Valuable Across Careers
The need to turn transferable skills into action is also reflected in how Malaysian youth perceive entrepreneurial thinking: 95% agree that an entrepreneurial mindset can help people succeed in any job, compared with 85% across Asia Pacific.
24% picture themselves running their own business in 10 to 15 years, the joint-highest results across the markets surveyed.
Malaysian respondents also identified school clubs and extracurricular activities as an important source of practical capability development. At 61%, Malaysia recorded the highest result across the surveyed markets for developing skills through these activities.
Education Must Keep Pace with AI and an Interconnected Economy
Beyond entrepreneurial capabilities, the study also highlights the importance of preparing young people to navigate an AI-enabled and increasingly interconnected economy. While Malaysian youth recognize the relevance of these capabilities, formal education has not fully kept pace:
- 94% believe understanding how business works across countries will matter to their careers, but only 63% say their school or university has taught them how cross-border trade works.
- 81% believe they will need to work alongside AI, but only 57% feel their education is preparing them to use it in a real working environment.
Across Asia Pacific, self-directed experimentation is the most commonly cited source of AI learning, at 42%, indicating that young people are looking beyond formal education to develop their capabilities.
Nurturing a Future-Ready Generation
“The most striking finding from this study is that young people are asking for more exposure to the workplace and real-world experience. As youth unemployment in Asia Pacific stands at almost 14% now, much higher than the adult rate, and the AI adoption divide continues to widen, we cannot assume that talent alone will be enough for young people to succeed. They need opportunities to build practical skills, gain confidence, and understand how work is evolving,” said Vivek Kumar, President and Chief Executive Officer of JA Asia Pacific. “Last year, JA Asia Pacific helped more than 5 million young people prepare for the workplace, thanks to the commitment of our partner schools, teachers, volunteers, and long-standing corporate supporters such as FedEx. Our collective responsibility now is to ensure that every young person has a fair chance to thrive in the economy of the future.”
The findings also indicate where this support can have the greatest impact: helping young people use AI responsibly, navigate less structured business challenges and apply classroom knowledge in real-world situations. Industry-led, locally relevant programs can build the judgement, adaptability and commercial understanding needed by the region’s future entrepreneurs, employees and business leaders.
For more insights on the future-ready skills that APAC youth need, check out the full “Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce: Asia Pacific Youth Insights” report.
About the Findings
The insights in this release are drawn from Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce – Asia Pacific Youth Insights, commissioned by FedEx and JA Asia Pacific, published by JA Institute, and conducted by Bolt Insight. The online quantitative survey was conducted between June and July 2026 among 4,219 young people aged 15 to 22 across ten Asia Pacific markets: China, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
About Federal Express Corporation
Federal Express Corporation is one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, providing fast and reliable delivery to more than 220 countries and territories. Federal Express Corporation uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments by a definite time and date.
About JA Asia Pacific
Started in 1919 to bridge the gap between classrooms and workplaces, JA Worldwide is one of the world’s oldest and most impactful youth-serving NGOs. Junior Achievement (JA) is dedicated to hands-on, immersive learning in work readiness, financial health, entrepreneurship, STEM, sustainability, and more. JA Worldwide has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year since 2022. Delivering more than 23 million student experiences each year in over 100 countries, JA Worldwide is one of few organizations with the scale, experience, and passion to build a brighter future for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders.
In 2025, JA Asia Pacific, a Member of JA Worldwide, reached more than 5 million students, spanning 14 markets, and engaged more than 66,000 teachers and volunteers in Asia Pacific alone.
Learn more about us here: www.jaasiapacific.org
About JA Institute
The JA Institute is the research, insights, and thought leadership arm of Junior Achievement (JA), dedicated to producing research on cost-effective ways to implement learning experiences, scale JA’s footprint, introduce innovation, and measure our effectiveness and impact; and translating research into thought leadership that strengthens our youth-advocacy efforts and helps JA lead global conversations.
Learn more about us here: https://www.ja.institute/