Opening Address by SUSS President Professor Tan Tai Yong at the Youth Forum 2025

Date: 10 Oct 2025

Mr Shawn Huang, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Manpower

Representatives of the self-help groups (CDAC, Eurasian Association, Yayasan MENDAKI, and SINDA)

Distinguished guests, partners, colleagues, and friends

 

  1. Good morning and thank you for joining us this morning at the Youth Forum 2025.

     

  2. It is heartening to see so many familiar faces, old friends and colleagues gathered here this morning for an important occasion, the launch of the Youth Forum 2025. This is not just a project undertaken by SUSS, but more importantly, it is taken with many partners who share in our belief in the importance of what we do and the importance of supporting our youths in their journey towards more meaningful and sustainable careers.

     

  3. At SUSS, our mission is clear: we believe in lifelong learning and we believe that learning does not end when a student leaves the university or the classroom, but it goes on into their workplace, into the society and into our country at large.

     

  4. In recent years, many of you are familiar with the kinds of challenges that job seekers and our workers are experiencing. Many of them are facing greater competition for full-time roles. There are disruptions in our economy and society, sparked by global events and new technologies. We also have been experiencing many ‘new normals’ in the way we work and live, shaping the way we work and live. So, with all these disruptions that everybody faces in the workplace, it is especially challenging for the youths who are entering the workforce for the first time or are in there and finding difficulties adjusting. These anxieties are felt not just by the individuals, but also by families, employers and societies as well.

     

  5. Against this backdrop, SUSS partnered with the self-help groups to examine a vital segment of the workforce – our youths – alongside employers, to better understand what they see as critical for success in the workplace.

     

  6. Based on our study, we find that while upgrading technical knowledge remains important, our study highlights an overlooked dimension in surviving and thriving in the workplace. Those are soft skills – how we communicate, collaborate, problem-solve, and adapt. Strikingly, youths across all groups placed financial security and job stability above flexibility. So, the belief that they are a generation of workers are who are into work from home and flexible work arrangements may not be entirely a fair characterisation. They want stability and financial security. Employers, on the other hand, place far greater emphasis on interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. This gap shows that preparing young people to thrive in the workplace is not just about giving them technical know-how, but it is about building resilience and the human skills needed to thrive in an ever changing work space.

     

  7. Later, my colleague, Vice President and the study’s principal investigator, Associate Professor Justina Tan, will share the findings in greater detail. We hope they will spark ideas for further discussions and opportunities for educators, employers, and community organisations to come together collaboratively, to find solutions and to improve the opportunities for our youth to do better in the workplace.

     

  8. I would like to extend my thanks to the research team – Justina, Dr Stefanie Chye, Assistant Provost Jacqueline Tan, Dr Xiong Feng, and others – for their dedication to this project, and to Tote Board for their steadfast support. Their co-funding ensures this study is not just a set of ideas or data points, but they could be translated into meaningful action for our youths and our nation.

     

  9. All of us here are looking to create value – by preparing graduates, developing youth, nurturing talent, or strengthening society. What matters most is applying that value in ways that last. That’s why today’s forum focuses on dialogue and exchange, to draw on your diverse voices and ideas, not just as data, but as inspiration for how we can come together, find solutions, and share good practices.

     

  10. As you take part in today’s conversations, I hope you will leave with three things:
    1. Fresh insights and inspiration from the study and the discussions that follow;
    2. Extending your networks, making new friends and collaborators to advance the social good in your work and society;
    3. And, perhaps, adopting actionable ideas you can put into practice at your workplace.

     

  11. With that, I wish you a fruitful and inspiring morning of dialogue.

     

  12. Thank you.