Optimizing The Role Of Youth In Asean Region To Meet 21ST Century Challenges
Abstract
ASEAN is a stirring and vibrant region with nearly half of its 630 million people aged below 35. It has one of the best resources possible which is human capital to embrace the very real challenges of the Industry 4.0 economy. Youths are the backbone of a nation. It is utmost necessary to create skills, behaviour, awareness, welfare-attitudes and a sense of ethical responsibilities among the youths to anticipate the needs of the economy and prepare a highly skilled workforce in order to build a competitive republic. This paper reviews the roles of youth in ASEAN region. Poverty, unemployment rates are constantly higher in this region which is causing a prolonged and frustrating situation for the youths. When, the industry is demanding highly skilled professionals to support the economy, the educational institutes struggling to produce an employable workforce for the job market. Online libraries and Google scholar electronic databases were researched from 2009 to 2019 using free-text words and youth subject headings relevant to the topic. Most studies identified were exploratory and of varying methodological design. The inclusion studies found that there are several initiatives taken by the ASEAN members which need to be scrutinized. The carry out of collaborative research to endorse industry competitiveness and innovation has been largely missing in the region’s youth development landscape. These challenges need to be addressed urgently and orient better learning to optimize the role of youths for its full economic development potential.