"Generation Z Faces Serious Lack of Digital Technology Education... Nothing Learned at School"

"Gen Z Less Prepared Technologically Than Baby Boomers"
Skilled in Using Digital Devices but Lacking Work Competence

The digital skills education level of Generation Z (born 1997?2012), who have begun to constitute the majority of young job seekers in the global employment market, is very low, and they are found to be less prepared for work-related technology use than their grandparents' generation, the Baby Boomers (born 1946?1964).

Generation Z job seekers point out that public education and university education are significantly outdated and that no technical education suitable for adapting to the new IT industry is being provided. As the proportion of Generation Z job seekers grows, significant difficulties are expected in workforce expansion for frontline companies.

According to Forbes, a U.S. economic media outlet, on the 15th (local time), a survey conducted by U.S. IT company Dell Technologies targeting 15,000 Generation Z youths aged 18 to 26 across 18 major countries revealed that 37% of them responded that they did not receive proper digital skills education at school. Additionally, 56% answered that they had no technical education beyond the minimum training to operate computers.

In fact, Generation Z job seekers were found to have the lowest level of technical preparedness among all working generations. According to a survey by Gartner, a U.S. IT industry research firm, as of the second quarter of last year, the technical readiness level of Generation Z employees for their jobs was 41.4%, significantly lower than Baby Boomers (48.6%), Generation X (46.1%, born 1965?1980), and Millennials (46.8%, born 1981?1996).

The reason why Generation Z, who are most familiar with digital devices, paradoxically have the lowest level of digital skills required for practical work is largely analyzed to be because they did not receive face-to-face job training itself. This generation began entering the job market before and after the COVID-19 pandemic and received most of their university education, internships, and entry-level job training remotely, resulting in insufficient job-related education, Forbes pointed out.

There are also criticisms that Generation Z's high turnover rate and preference for large corporations leave them with insufficient time to accumulate job-related skills. According to a policy research report surveyed by the World Bank last year, generations born after the 1980s work on average 3.6 years less at one company than those born in the 1940s. In particular, about 30% of Generation Z youths change jobs within one year.