HOW CAN WE ENGAGE MILLENNIALS TO TAKE ACTION? YouthSpeak Insights report for Finland
Powered by AIESEC www.aiesec.fi
YouthSpeak Survey 2.0
www.youthspeak.aiesec.org
AIESEC is the world’s largest youth-led non-profit organization developing the leadership potential in young people. AIESEC envisions peace and fulfillment of humankind's potential. We believe that this vision can be achieved if there are more responsible, self-aware, solution-oriented leaders in the world. The young leaders who are aware of the global issues believe in their ability to change the world to a better place and have skills to empower others for achieving a greater common goal. We place our confidence in youth - the generations that are our future - and provide them opportunities to develop their leadership skills through practical cross-cultural experiences. Launched in October 2015, embraced the learnings from the previous survey (YouthSpeak Survey Millennial Insight Report: Improving the Journey from Education to Employment), and included the research topics on leadership, future vision, ways of engagement, drivers in life, and awareness and commitment towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. There are currently over 1.8 billion young people in the world, whose decisions and actions in next 15 years will determine how the world will be shaped. AIESEC, as the largest youth-run organization, aims at engaging and developing these 1.8 billion young people to become the better leaders who can build a better world. YouthSpeak allows young people to engage and take action over issues that matter to them. We have gathered 173 421 responses from over 125 countries and territories by May 2016, aiming at finding the insights on the question: “How can we engage Millennials to take action?” PAGE 2
FOREWORD: WHY SHALL WE CARE ABOUT THE GLOBAL GOALS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT? By Maria Strelkova Director of Business Development term 2015 – 2016 AIESEC in Finland
On September 25th, The 193-Member United Nations General Assembly has formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with a set of bold, new Global Goals. Just three months after, AIESEC became the first NGO to organize a 3-days event at the UN Headquarters -The Youth Action Summit, uniting young people with the private, public and civil society sector to define the role of youth in achieving the SDGs and AIESEC’s commitment towards to make it happen. The world where the Global Goals are achieved is the environment where the vision of AIESEC can become real - achieving peace and fulfillment of humankind's potential. Therefore, AIESEC committed itself through own operations and expertise to contribute to the achievement of the Global Goals. AIESEC globally has done an incredible work launching YouthSpeak initiative, raising awareness about the Global Goals, at the same time seeking to understand what factors would support young people to take an action on issues that truly matter to them. AIESEC in Finland had only 0.2 percent of contribution to the global youth voice. However, it is just the first step. With the plan to reach out to 1 million youth voices globally, we take our learnings forward for improving our approach of outreaching to young people in Finland during this year. The Global YouthSpeak
Insights report will represent more detailed insights with a comprehensive big data analysis for the global and regional levels. The YouthSpeak Insight report for Finland might reflect some similarities, yet it seeks the understanding the Millennials in the context of Finnish society. The findings of this YouthSpeak Insights report shall support AIESEC in Finland to engage other stakeholders for purposeful collaboration, to be the first knock on the door for opening up the conversations between youth, educational, governmental or corporate institutions. Taking into account the research findings about Millennials and their challenges from Universum (Millennials: the six part series report), Deloitte (The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey: Winning over the next generation of leaders) and others, with YouthSpeak Survey we aimed not on replicating the information, but rather focusing on more in-depth understanding of what actions shall be taken. With that being said, this report is a great start of even more significant findings on how we [youth] can take the actions towards a better future, and how these findings will support the stakeholders in the decisionmaking process. AIESEC in Finland invites you to continue the conversation and take the questions raised in this report as a topic for the further research and in-depth discussion during YouthSpeak Forum.
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YOUTHSPEAK INITIATIVE The YouthSpeak Survey collects youth opinion from around the world for a better understand what young people care about. The survey also has a role to make young people reflect – do they really care about the future of the world, education and leadership? The YouthSpeak Insights reflect the data gathered from the YouthSpeak Survey. Applying the insight from the survey to local context and reality, it will allow decision makers to take actions that influence strategies and operations of the organizations.
The YouthSpeak Forum is an event that brings the leaders and the experts in the field of chosen topic together with young people. The forum aims to create a platform for bringing different perspectives on the topic and more in-depth discussions. The topic and the theme of the event connect with the insights gathered from the YouthSpeak Survey. The YouthSpeak Projects are the actionable ideas that were generated during YouthSpeak Forum. Involving partner organizations, AIESEC takes responsibility that created ideas are being implemented.
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YouthSpeak is an initiative powered by AIESEC across the globe.
THE CONCEPT 1. DRIVERS IN LIFE |
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2. WORLD IN 2030 |
What is the decision making process for the millennials? What do they consider first? What drives them in life?
The YouthSpeak Survey and the YouthSpeak Insights are designed in 6 blocks
3. YOUTH FOR GLOBAL GOALS | Global Goals Agenda is the plan for humanity to build the better world in the future. Do young people know about this plan? What’s their attitude towards the SDGs?
5. ENGAGEMENT |
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How do young people envision their future? What’s the state of the world in 2030? What is important for young people in next 15 years?
4. LEADERSHIP |
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To mobilize young people to take action certain type of leadership is needed. What are the characteristics young people want to see in leaders of today?
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Whom millennials trust the most? What’s their attitude towards the technology and increasing amount of information?
6. EDUCATION |
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Education is the most important issue for young people (based on YouthSpeak 1.0). Yet what kind of education young people need? What does experiential learning mean for them? PAGE 5
1. READ THE INSIGHTS THROUGH THE ANCHOR QUESTIONS Each of six blocks of the questions contains one anchor question (marked by *). The anchor questions are the primary set of the data. Usually, an anchor question is a very simple statement. You could take all the anchor questions across the blocks to see the “general sensing” of youth opinion on each of these six fields. It is quite a broad framework, and it is suitable the best for creating general themes for the discussions.
2. READ THE DATA WITHIN EACH OF THE BLOCKS
How to use this YouthSpeak Insights report
Take each of the blocks of the questions separately – this is the secondary set of the data. Use the anchor question as leverage to build some specific discussion around the topic. This approach is suitable the best for forming a problem question and involving experts on the field for further conversation.
3. SEEK FOR CONNECTIONS ACROSS THE BLOCKS The tertiary set of the data allows looking for the connection in between the blocks. There might be one or more anchor questions used as a base for an assumption, which is being proved right or wrong by insights from other blocks. This approach is the best for forming a discussion about a specific field and particular phenomena. It is important to remember that majority of the opinions in one set of the questions might not be represented in the majority of the views in another set of the questions.
3. CONSIDER DEMOGRAPHICS AND METHODOLOGY The YouthSpeak Insights is not a scientific report. There are some limitations for outreach, demographics, and sample representation. Therefore, it is important to use the YouthSpeak Insights report as a tool for activating young people to hear their opinion, and engaging various stakeholders for the conversations. PAGE 6
DRIVERS IN LIFE
WHICH 3 MOTIVES (BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL) DRIVE YOU THE MOST IN LIFE?*
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
Love Purpose in life Family Achievement Friends Curiosity Sense of adventure Freedom
Finland
Sense of contribution
WENA
Work-life balance Satisfaction Financial success Responsibility
Recognition Spiritual and Transcendental values Social status Power and Authority Other
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Global
18%
Comparing to the tendencies globally and in WENA region, young people in Finland have a relatively balanced opinion on what drives them in life. Drivers related to the feeling of belonging (love, family, friends) and purpose in life and achievements are on top of their list. In quite many research papers about millennials, it was discussed that young people value work-life balance at the most. Yet from the results of our study we see that they pursuit not necessarily “free hours from work” but the feeling of love and purpose in life. Youth in Finland is driven less by family and friends than their fellow in other parts of the world. We explain it partly by the cultural aspects, and partly by the influence of other drivers – such as the sense of
* Block’s primary question
adventure and curiosity. Interestingly, the youth is more driven by the purpose and achievement, rather by the financial success. Social status became less desirable than personal accomplishments. For further discussion: In the culture where privacy of personal life is valued, how can an employer, educational institution or society fulfill the need of love and discovering / supporting young people’s purpose in life? What kind of environment the future employers need to build, if young people are driven by financial remuneration and social status less?
IF YOU COULD BE PAID FOR ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? The analysis was done based on the keyword search. Category “contribute” includes all the statements that meant committing to something bigger than personal interest; helping to other people or developing communities; establishing a business that would solve some social issue, or running a social enterprise. It was by far the biggest block of keywords.
CONTRIBUTE TRAVEL
CREATE
EXPLORE & LEARN
TEACH
The second biggest block in Finland is “travel”. It contains the understanding of travel to see the world and new cultures and experience new places. The second biggest in Finland is “travel”. It contains the understanding of travel to see the world, understand new cultures, and experience new places. The third popular opinion was “create” – create apiece of art; produce or build something new that hasn’t existed before.
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“Explore and learn” includes researches, discoveries, practical or theoretical constant learning and personal development. “Teach” keyword in this context meant educating other people on something that a young person is good at, or desire to eradicate illiteracy in some parts of the world. We shall admit that they key words cannot identify the reasons of the behaviors. However, the number of respondents that answered that they wouldn’t do anything or they don’t know what they would do, was extremely insignificant. For further discussion: It is not motivating enough any more to young people to just follow routine. Either in educational institution or at the work place – driven by purpose in life, the seek for bigger contribution. Thus, the Why of every activity shall be very clear to the young people in order to keep them interested and motivated.
WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CAREER IN THE FIRST 5 YEARS AFTER GRADUATION?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Meaningful work
Constant learning Work-life balance Global opportunities
Finland WENA
Training opportunities Challenging work Alignment with area of study Salary / Compensation Employer with a strong brand
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Global
Supported by the drivers in life, young people in Finland seek for meaningful work and opportunities for constant learning more often than their fellows from other parts of the world. Worklife balance is the third priority in their list. However we did make earlier an assumption that it shall not mean the avoidance of work overload, but the opportunity for purposeful work and ability to contribute. One of the Universum’s six-part report about millennials, “Understanding a misunderstood generation” discusses whether the millennials tend to resist hard work and demand more support and opportunities from the employers. We agree that there might be such a perception. However, we see that young people in Finland do demonstrate curiosity and need of contribution at the work that they see a clear purpose for. Thus, the attitude shall be adjusted accordingly. Our observation is that the success of achieving the results is not in the hardwork routine, but purpose-driven attitude for completing the hard work.
For further discussion: Only some minority of young people mentioned alignment with their studies as one of the most important criteria in the first 5 years after graduation. Does it mean that they do not see their future career in the field that they study? Young people don’t tend to see the straight path of “education – work experience in the field of education – permanent job in the field of education” as the only one truth. However, what needs to be done by government and educational institutions to ensure that young people acquire relevant skills for the meaningful work and contribution that they are seeking for. How significant role the employer branding plays in its traditional understanding?
Young people are still driven by more “human” factors rather by financial or social status gain. They see a high significance in meaningful work that would support their purpose in life, a need for contribution and constant learning. Taking into account the context of youth unemployment and phenomena of “lost youth” in Finland, could employers and educational institutions appeal better to young people’s drivers in life?
THE WORLD IN 2030
DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR SOCIETY WILL BE IN A BETTER OR IN A WORSE STATE BY 2030?
58%
Better
51% 68%
42%
Worse
49%
Such a simple question definitely cannot embrace all the individual factors that influenced on such opinion. However, we found it rather alarming that young people are split almost equally between the optimistic and pessimistic view of their society. Comparing to more developing countries and the rest of the world, youth in Finland tend not to see significant improvements.
32%
Finland
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WENA
Global
Despite all the real factors influenced on forming such an opinion, young people also mentioned that they see the need for more positive and solution-oriented approach for their personal in professional behavior.
* Block’s primary question
For further discussion: Does such an attitude cause other issues, or the issues in the society cause the attitude? What shall be done and factors could lead to more positive and solution-oriented attitude of youth in Finland?
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF WORKING IN 10 YEARS?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Small or Medium Enterprise Multinational Corporation Business Start up NGO's / Foundations Academia / Educational institutions
Finland WENA Global
National Corporation Government Social Start up
Culture / Art Sports
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There is an insignificant difference in the preference of the future workplace size – either in a SME or multinational corporation. Referring to the block of the questions about drivers in life and the most important condition within 5 year after graduation, we draw the conclusion that young people do not necessarily look for the standard “social benefits” corporate package, but rather for an employer who would fulfill their criteria of providing meaningful work and opportunities for constant learning. Interestingly, youth in Finland relatively seeks less for global opportunities in the multinational corporations comparing to the young people the global level.
Start-up opportunities are also in the top-3 most desirable workplaces in next ten years.
Proving our observation on drivers in life that young people do not prioritize authority and power, the government did not become as one of the most attractive workplaces. For further discussion: Most of the young people think that education could solve world’s issues, as well as they are willing to learn and educate others. Yet educational institutions are not the most attractive workplace. At the same time educational institutions are the ones that provide the space for higher contribution, which was such valued by young people. Or is it so?
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD, WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
The analysis is done based on the keyword search.
LACK OF HUMANITY
NOT BEING SUCCESSFUL
ECONOMICAL ECOLOGICAL
“Lack of humanity” included all the fears related to intolerance, greed, inequalities and ignorance, cultural misunderstanding and war threatening. “Not being successful” meant not fulfilling the life purpose, not living up to one’s potential and feeling of disappointment. Economical and ecological fears included the factors that influence on young people’s living conditions and the state of the world. Currently we cannot compare the biggest fears of young people in Finland to the global data. Yet, taking the preliminary global findings from Global
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YouthSpeak Insights report, we could see the similarities in expressed fears. Despite of diverse cultural backgrounds, economical and political situations in different parts of the world – increasing lack of humanity is still one of the biggest fears. For further discussion: Lack of humanity was by far the biggest fear that young people have. With the world’s refugee crisis, intolerance and war danger – what societies need to do in order to decrease this fear? Empathy was named one of the greatest qualities of a leader. What young people need to do in order to nurture empathy?
BIGGEST ISSUES IN FINLAND
0% Racism and intolerance Stress and depression Youth unemployment Unemployment Alcoholism Lack of awareness about global issues Refugees and asylum seekers Lack of awareness about global opportunities
Bullying at studying and working places Inequality Lost youth
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
Followed by the question about specific issues that Finnish society faces, we discovered that intolerance still ranked by young people in Finland as the highest, followed by health (stress and depression) and economical (youth unemployment). For more indepth understanding of how young people perceive their own society, more data shall be collected. Taking into account the demographics, almost half
of the respondents did not have Finnish origins. For further discussion: Understanding the fears of young people of decreasing humanity, their will to contribute to a bigger purpose and seeing empathy as a greatest quality of a leader, what shall be done in order to decrease intolerance in Finnish society?
Demographic change Health and well-being Immigration for work and studies Transition between education and employment Financial illiteracy among youth Social gap Work-life balance Nationalization as political focus Domestic violence Infrastructure
Other
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Attitude. We think we are great. - Male, Finland
Cynicism and hopelessness, social isolation and alienation, and loneliness. These are the biggest issues Finland is facing. - Female, Finland
SOLUTIONS: WHAT COULD HELP TO SOLVE THESE ISSUES?
0%
Education International experience Social project Entrepreneurship Informal education Volunteering Extra curriculum Other Donations
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5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
The respondents expressed that their education could solve the issues of intolerance, racism, stress and youth unemployment. However, education is quite a broad topic, and by this specific question solely we cannot provide the answer what kind of education can tackle these issues. International experience was named as the second solution that most likely in young people opinion can help.
For further discussion: Taking into account that almost half of youth in Finland within this survey expressed a pessimistic view on the future within next 15 years, yet demonstrated will to contribute and develop their communities, what needs to be done in order to engage youth in Finland to take an action? How can entrepreneurship and start-up scene support society in solving these issues?
Asking this question, we didn’t aim at finding one golden “cure pill” to all of the issues, but rather we tried to challenge young people to think about possible solutions.
Government supports now the wrong persons with money. That should be more strict.
Community-based, communityrun development/empowerment projects in the neighborhood level, especially through 12-15 year olds (junior youth) because they are a generation that's ready to act!
WHO DO YOU THINK HAS THE STRONGEST ABILITY TO INFLUENCE SOCIETY?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Government
Individuals
Private sector (Business) Finland WENA
Youth led organisations
Other
NGO's
No one
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Global
Young people in Finland see government as the one with the highest ability to influence society. Yet this question did not ask about an ideal sector of influence, but rather indicated the current state. Young people in Finland do not see as much influence of a private sector on the society in comparison to the opinion of youth in WENA region. The influential role of the youth-led organization in Finland is not seen high, especially comparing to the global data.
For further discussion: The government is seen as an institution with the strongest ability to influence on society. Pursuing a will to contribute to some bigger purpose and develop their communities, do young people in Finland actually take actions for improving their society? Do they feel the responsibility of doing it or relying on the government to solve all the social issues?
Young people in Finland tend to see their society more pessimistically than young people globally. Is it caused by a belief that more developed country cannot keep the same pace of improvement? Do young people able to take an action towards the improvement of their society themselves, or do they rely on other institutions to solve the issues for them?
YOUTH FOR GLOBAL GOALS
ARE YOU A VOLUNTEER?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Yes
60%
Finland
WENA Global
No
At the same time volunteering is seen by young people as a way to develop themselves personally and professionally (Education – block), as well as a way to feel contributions (Drivers in life – block).
WOULD YOU VOLUNTEER ABROAD? 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Yes Finland
I've already volunteered abroad
No
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Volunteering is one of the ways to contribute to society. Volunteering also was named as one of the ways to solve the social issues in Finland, even though it did not have a high priority in the list.
WENA Global
Not specifying the scope of volunteering, we wanted to identify how many of young people actually see themselves as volunteers? In order to decrease intolerance, young people see that international experience
can help them to develop empathy and cultural understanding. How many young people though a ready to combine the volunteering and international experience by going for a volunteering project abroad? For further discussion: Solely by a fact that a young person is a volunteer or not, we cannot draw any conclusions. However, do young people see volunteering as a way of developing their personal and professional skills, or as a contribution to the society? Why is volunteering important to Finnish society?
WHICH ISSUES WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN TACKLING THROUGH VOLUNTEERING ABROAD?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Education Peace and Justice Health Gender Equality Jobs and economic growth Inequality Protect the planet Clean Energy Sustainable cities and communities Poverty Infrastructure Hunger Clean Water and Sanitation Responsible consumption Life on land Partnerships for the SDGs Life below water Other
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Finland WENA Global
Volunteering for a short period of time abroad can serve many purposes. Travelling and contribution were named as one of the top things that young people would do if they were paid for anything. At the same time it is a way to develop cultural understanding, empathy (qualities of a leader that were named as one of the most important), and view on the world. So, what issues young people feel the most committed to solving globally?
For further discussion: Education was named as one of the ways to eradicate world’s issues. Most of the respondents also expressed willingness to work on education while volunteering abroad. What tools and opportunities the society or educational institutions need to create in order foster this cause?
WHAT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES WOULD HELP YOU TO GROW PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
Awareness about global issues Positive and solution-oriented attitude Belief in ability to make a difference in the world Effective communication in diverse environment Exploration of personal passions Engaging with others for achieving a bigger purpose Empowering others
Most of the young people in Finland expressed as one of the most important condition for their work after graduation is an opportunity for constant learning. At the same time understanding their fears and hopes, acquiring what skills and experience would help them to develop themselves personally and professionally? For further discussion: What are the ways of gaining these skills and experiences by young people?
Responsibility for improving the world
Understanding of personal values Taking risks Demonstrate resilience in a face of challenges Focus on strength over weaknesses
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How can educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and employers support young people in gaining these opportunities?
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ARE (SDGs)?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Yes
Finland WENA Global
No
On September 25 2015 the 193-Member United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These 17 Goals are focusing over next 15 years on areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet.
Awareness about the Global Goals solely doesn’t ensure any commitment towards achieving them. However, knowing the goal, it is easier to build a roadmap towards achieving it. But do young people in Finland know about the Sustainable Development Goals?
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE SUSTAINABILITY POLICY OF YOUR COUNTRY? 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Yes, I am familiar Finland
No, I do not know it
WENA Global
I do not care
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Finland accepted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development as a guideline for developing a national policy for sustainable development. If only less than a half of young
people are aware with the SDGs, and even less are aware of the national sustainability policy, what would guide them to take an action for contributing to development?
WHAT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS YOU WOULD ACT UPON? * 0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
SDG 1 No Powerty SDG 2 Zero Hunger SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being SDG 4 Quality Education SDG 5 Gender Equality SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
Finland WENA
Global
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and infrustructure
For further discussion: There are some differences in priorities of what of the Global Goals young people in Finland would act upon comparing to other countries. Yet SDG 4 – Quality Education is by far a number one preference of young people across the globe. What needs to be done to take this engagement from a preference towards an action for achieving it?
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and… SDG 13 Climate Action SDG 14 Life Below Water SDG 15 Life on Land SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
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This is the primary question of the block of “Youth For Global Goals”. The aim was also to raise awareness about the SDGs, as a very first step to defining how young people personally could contribute to achieving them, as well as why it is highly important as for their own future as for society.
* Block’s primary question
The majority of young people are not aware with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Global Goals is a guideline for nations, societies and individuals to make the world a better place. Young people are the once who will drive this positive change in next 15 years. But are they aware what direction they are going to? Just being aware of the concept of SDGs doesn’t ensure that the actions towards achieving them will be taken. However, it is a starting point – to know the goals to start building the roadmap for achieving them
LEADERSHIP
WHAT IS ONE CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKES A PERSON A GREAT LEADER? *
Charisma 12% Action-oriented
Determination
17%
7%
Vision
Empathy
11%
30%
We asked young people to name a person who they think is a great leader. Then we asked them to explain what qualities make this person a great leader. Surprisingly, not many names of Finnish leaders were mentioned by respondents in Finland. The analysis was done by the key word search. Empathy, being action-oriented and integrity are the top qualities named by young people in Finland.
What experiences young people shall have in order to gain these qualities themselves? Do these named qualities reflect named skills and experiences that young people want to acquire in order to grow personally and professionally? Do young people strive for developing leadership qualities within themselves?
For further discussion: Trust
Inspiration
3%
5% 14% Integrity
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* Block’s primary question. Global data will be available for comparison in the Global YouthSpeak report
WHAT DOES TERM “LEADERSHIP” MEAN TO YOU?
It means charisma. But alone it's just an empty word, we do not need leaders, we need conscious citizens
Being an example, empowering and enabling people to grow, understanding the bigger picture, ability to coach and mentor people.
Responsible entrepreneurship Means nothing
It's something that's really needed in this world, but I'd rather not take part in leading.
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The ability to set overarching goals; convincing people of uniting under them; and organizing the actual work toward these goals.
Willingness to make an impact to the world and making real actions within your team/followers
It means ownership in all situations, acting with others as well as taking responsibility by yourself. It means being open-minded and solutionoriented and being able to work in groups and coaching them.
Living according to your values and not being afraid to work towards what you believe in.
Having an impact
According to Universum’s report on Millennials – “Understanding a misunderstood generation”, defines that nearly 61 % of young people in WENA region want to achieve leadership or managerial roles in their work. Yet do young people see a difference between being a manager and being a leader? This we asked in the country-specific questions, trying to identify what term “leadership” mean to young people. Generally we observed that young people tend to explain leadership based on their understanding of a great leader. There might be some survey errors due to the fact that the survey was conducted in English, and the term “johtaja” might not mean exactly the same as “leadership”. The topic needs more in-depth discussion and research, the current data provides a few diverse opinions, but doesn't allow to form a strong conclusion.
For further discussion: Do young people in Finland see acquiring leadership qualities as a way to improve themselves and their society? Not prioritizing power and authority in the list of drivers in life, how do they perceive leadership as a positive term?
Do young people in Finland even want to become a leader?
ENGAGEMENT
WHICH CHANNELS DO YOU USE IN ORDER TO KEEP YOURSELF INFORMED ON DAY-TO-DAY BASIS?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
E-newspapers and E-magazines Friends / Word of mouth Google Magazines / Newspaper Instagram TV Other social media Whatsapp Twitter Blogs LinkedIn I don't like to look for information" Snapchat WeChat
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Finland WENA Global
Generation of young people, grown up with technologies and social media. It is not a secret that the channels of engagement are shifting. There is more and more information available through multiple channels. What channels young people choose to keep themselves updated? What piece of information do they trust? For further discussion: There is an interesting shift
comparing young people’s opinion in Finland with their fellows globally. Thus, esources of traditional magazines and newspapers are in use more than on a global or regional levels generally. Whereas TV is not the most common channel for Finnish youth. How could we engage young people better using the channels of information that they trust for receiving a dayon-day information?
WHO ARE THE 3 MOST TRUSTED SOURCES YOU LOOK UP TO GET INFORMATION? *
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Academic Institutions Friends Parents / Relatives Professors
Government Colleagues Thought leaders
Finland WENA Global
In quite a few types of research on millennials, it was claimed that young people tend to rely the most on their families and friends. Yet academic institutions are the ones scoring the top of the preferences. We did not specify what kind of information – either on the everyday basis or more academic, therefore more research on the topic is needed.
Coach / Mentor Bloggers
Senior managers Public figures
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* Block’s primary question.
For further discussion: The survey shows that looking up information from families and friends definitely takes place. Yet is it for the reason to consume the information, or this behavior can be explained by the factors that drive young people in their lives? Being the most trusted sources of information, could we involve educational institutions to support young people in finding solutions to social issues by developing leadership qualities needed for that?
WHICH OF THE STATEMENTS RELATES TO YOU THE MOST?
0%
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
I live on my smartphone and I find it convenient
I'm not dependent on my smartphone Finland
I live on my smartphone and I find it harmful
I don't have a smartphone
I don't have a mobile
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WENA Global
Finland is one of the top countries in the rank of number phones and smartphones per capita. Young people use smartphones in every aspect of their life. Some sources argue that we disconnect socially connecting more through technologies. Yet what do young people think? Do they find it harmful or convenient?
For further discussion: The survey shows that young people in Finland find using their smartphones rather convenient. How for example this fact can help in engaging young people to take an action?
It is not a secret that young people grew up with the technologies and social media, thus tend to see it as an integral part of their lives. In the world with more and more increasing amount of information, how to make sure the most relevant information reaches out young people?
EDUCATION
DO YOU CONSIDER THAT YOUR UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE EXPERIENCE IS GIVING YOU KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS YOU WOULD NEED IN THE FUTURE?
30,00%
Simply by shifting a scale in the YouthSpeak Survey we tried to identify the general perception of higher education of young people – how the knowledge and the skills would support them in the future?
25,00%
20,00%
15,00%
This question did not specify whether the young people are already aware what kind of skills they will need in the future for sure, or rather still try to figure it out during their studies.
10,00%
5,00%
0,00% 0
1
NOT CONTRIBUTING AT ALL
PAGE 36
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
CONTRIBUTING IN EVERY POSSIBLE ASPECT
For further discussion: The alignment with the studies is not on the priority list of young people in Finland for their future career. Is this flexibility caused by admitting that the educational institutions are not equipping young people with all the skills they would need? What ways and approaches can engage young people for acquiring these skills? The are curious and are willing to learn. What would be the right approach through?
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE BIGGEST BENEFIT OF STUDYING IN UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
For further discussion:
Acquiring skills to prepare for career
Acquiring useful knowledge
Building a network of friends and contacts
Finland WENA
Becoming self aware on what I want to do next
Getting a diploma for a higher status in the society
I don't see any benefits
PAGE 37
Global
Education was named as one of the ways of solving world’s issues. At the same time SDG 4 – Quality Education attracts the most of the commitment of young people. Young people trust the information received from academic institutions, yet they are not entirely satisfied with the set of the skills and knowledge they get from their higher studies.
We agree that quality education can have a different
meaning in the different parts of the world. While in more developing countries young people crave for equal access to education, in (still) tuitionfree Finland with one of the best reputation for education system it can mean something different. So, what is the reason why young people continue their higher education? What do they need to do personally to be more satisfied with their studies and what educational institutions still could focus on?
WHICH METHODS OF LEARNING DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST USEFUL?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Practical experience
Working groups For further discussion:
Workshops
Mentoring / coaching
Finland WENA
Lectures Global
Volunteering
Text books
Online courses
PAGE 38
Young people know the best how they can learn and develop themselves. Yet are we utilizing all the methods that work for young people?
Practical experiences were assessed by far as the most useful way of learning, also in the global analysis. What do practical experiences mean and how to utilize these learnings at the best?
WHICH ONE OF THESE PRACTICAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE IN ORDER TO GROW PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY? *
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Exchange
For further discussion:
Volunteering
Case studies
Finland WENA
Workshops
Global
Taking into consideration that education and international experience were named as the tools for solving the world’s issues, and practical experiences through an
Conferences
Study tours
PAGE 39
* Block’s primary question
exchange are one of the best learning methods for young people – could society, educational institutions and individuals themselves create more opportunities that would fulfill all of them?
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. - Nelson Mandela Young people see the need of constant learning and development. Embracing technologies, drivers in life, understanding of the set of skills and knowledge need in life, and young people’s vision for the future – how do we make sure that we get the best out of education? Young people are the ones who will drive a positive change in next 15 years. Are we sure that education serves this purpose with the methods we currently use?
Data collection: The data for the YouthSpeak Survey in this report was collected by AIESEC through own network (AIESEC national and local offices) in 125 countries and territories, as well as with the help of promotion and distribution the survey by the partner organizations. This YouthSpeak Insights report is based on the data collected from November 2015 until May 2016. The YouthSpeak Survey is still currently open for the responses, yet the structure might be slightly modified and simplified in the future, as well as translated into more languages (including Finnish). This would ensure even higher outreach and collect more data for providing valuable insights.
METHODOLOGY
DATA COLLECTION
SAMPLE SIZE
Global
160 227
Data analysis:
WENA
14 556
Data analysis was done on the global level by AIESEC International with the support of partner organizations. The YouthSpeak Insights report for Finland was done by AIESEC in Finland. The survey error estimates cannot be calculated.
Finland
299
The Global YouthSpeak Insights report will be published only after this national report is completed. Therefore, all the data presented here for global level and WENA region is taken from the preliminary data analysis. We have included WENA region (Western Europe and North America) to the chart analytics to compare to the national insights to the region that has similarities in economic, political and social aspects.
PAGE 41
DEMOGRAPHICS: BACKGROUND
Business Administration Engineering 42%
12%
8%
7%
6%
6%
Humanities or Social Sciences
18%
Economics Computer science 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Education Other
Student 84%
11%
Employed Self-employed Unemployed
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
PAGE 42
DEMOGRAPHICS: AGE AND GENDER
33%
12%
0%
10%
20%
22%
30%
40%
Under 16
50%
16-19
20-22
60%
23-24
42%
0%
10%
20%
9%
19%
70%
25-27
80%
28-30
90%
5%
100%
Over 30
57%
30%
40%
50% Male
60% Female
70%
80%
90%
100%
Other
PAGE 43
DEMOGRAPHICS: NATIONALITY OF ORIGIN
58%
0%
10%
9%
20%
30%
40%
Finland
Russian Federation
50%
Germany
60%
India
24%
70%
Vietnam
80%
90%
100%
Other
PAGE 44
To learn more how we can help you to understand, engage and connect with millennials: AIESEC in Finland: aiesec.fi finland@aiesec.net Learn more about YouthSpeak and download the Global YouthSpeak reports: youthspeak.aiesec.org
AIESEC in Finland Pictures and graphic used created by AIESEC June 2016