SINGAPORE – A simple bingo board transformed into a blinking dashboard. A ladder replaced by a maze with multiple doors. A web browser with multiple tabs open.
These metaphors depict a generation of young Singaporeans navigating an uncertain environment, where the paths towards adulthood have become less linear.
Panellists painted this picture of how youth view their future during an In Perspective roundtable discussion on youth hosted by The Straits Times on July 14.
One of the five panellists, National Youth Council (NYC) chief executive officer David Chua, described youth today as “an increasingly wary generation”.
“Maybe 10 years ago, there was a bit more wonderment, a sense of curiosity, a sense of venture. Today, there’s a bit of wariness about making choices,” he noted.
Decisions about education, careers and relationships seem to carry higher stakes now, partly because youth face more complexity and disruptions, he added.
The roundtable, moderated by ST’s senior audience growth specialist Elizabeth Law, focused on how young Singaporeans can thrive amid uncertainties – ranging from the rise of artificial intelligence to geopolitical upheaval and economic instability.
Such challenges align with national concerns addressed in the SG Youth Plan, which NYC and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth launched on July 25. The five-year blueprint has more than 20 recommendations to support Singapore youth in their careers and well-being.
The 50-minute In Perspective discussion started with the panellists examining the challenges facing young Singaporeans.
A key problem is career anxiety, even though Singapore has one of the world’s lowest rates of youth unemployment – at 6.6 per cent – and youth who are not in education, employment or trading.
Positive statistics on paper could obscure deeper realities, noted Chew Han Ei, Singapore Management University’s associate director of impact, pointing to recent research that young Singaporeans are less engaged at work.
“Being employed doesn’t mean they feel that their work… is contributing to their future and to their own well-being,” said Chew.
Lim Ee Ling, CEO of entrepreneurial platform Wavesparks, which supports young people in their start-up ideas, highlighted a difference between completion and contribution confidence.
Lim argued that the education system teaches students to follow structured systems to score and evaluate their performance.
However, this does not prepare them for a dynamic workplace, which requires contribution confidence – being curious enough to ask questions, working with people who are different, and receiving unstructured feedback.
“That’s like a different muscle altogether,” she said.
Chua said that one of the biggest challenges facing young people is learning to operate in ambiguity and be comfortable with discomfort.
Developing confidence in contributing will foster their sense of agency, he added.
“That’s where the curiosity comes in. There is no script for you to follow. No bingo sheet.”
Okay to say ‘I’m still figuring it out’
Narasimman Tivasiha Mani, co-founder and executive director of Impart, a non-profit organisation helping youth facing adversity, noted that many young people tend to see life like an automated factory.
They progress from primary school to secondary school, then to tertiary education, without giving much thought to their own autonomy, he added.
Sustainability professional Attiya Ashraf Ali, who was the youngest panellist, said Singaporeans are used to having fixed model answers.
For her, it was a post-graduation conversation with her economics professor that changed her perspective.
As Attiya was contemplating a job change, the professor reassured her that changing course was normal.
People need to acquire new information, and that would change the way they view meaning and their roles in life, the professor told Attiya, who is now also a community leader working with youth and Malay/Muslim women.
She added that many of her peers changed jobs multiple times a few years into their career, unlike her parents’ generation who stayed in the same role for many years.
“There’s the beauty (in having) multiple pathways to explore, but it takes away the comfort of having the right answer,” she said.
Chua emphasised the need for a non-judgmental environment where young people can say “I’m still figuring it out”, and where society recognises that they are on a journey of discovery – just like most people in life.
Lim encouraged youth to build their confidence by gaining exposure. The young entrepreneurs she works with gain confidence over time through facing rejections from investors and users.
She added that job tasting stints under the SG Youth Plan, which lets young Singaporeans try different jobs and industries for periods ranging from half a day to a few weeks, could broaden youth’s exposure various experiences.
Up to 30,000 job tasting stints will be offered annually by 2030. For a start, more than 10,000 of such stints will be available in 2026 on NYC’s Discover portal.
When the panellists were asked what they would say to a 19-year-old, Lim advised youth to avoid taking safe routes and instead seek opportunities to learn from people they admire, and build good judgment, adaptability and relationship-building.
The whole nation is backing its young people, especially through the SG Youth Plan, Chua said. “I’m not a Liverpool fan, but you’ll never walk alone.”
In Perspective is a research-led content programme by SPH Media that combines insight-driven storytelling with expert perspectives on key issues shaping society.
