The millennial generation is born between 1980 and 2000 and is now entering employment in vast numbers. They will shape the world of work for years to come. By 2020, millennials will account for 50% of the workforce.
Millennial Entrepreneurs:
Young people have always been able to see things in new and innovative ways.Lately, they’ve been taking that vision and founding businesses.
The trend took off with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who founded Apple and Microsoft in 1976 at the age of 21. Then came Mark Zuckerberg, who programmed facebook while still a student at Harvard University and became a billionaire by the age of 23.
Now Zuckerberg’s Facebook is being challenged by a new generation of young entrepreneurs. These kids aren’t just digital natives, they’re mobile and social natives. The list of ten young entrepreneurs below is full of bright minds that will be re-imagining the world in 2014 — and not one of them is older than 23.
- Madison Robinson
- Lucas Duplan
- Khoa Phan
- Stacey Ferreira
- Eden Full
- Nick D’aloisio
- Caroline Walerud
- Brian Wong
- Evan Spiegel
- Palmer Luckey
Millennials grew up in an electronics-filled and increasingly online and socially-networked world. They are the generation that has received the most marketing attention. As the most ethnically diverse generation, Millennials tend to be tolerant of difference. Having been raised under the mantra “follow your dreams” and being told they were special, they tend to be confident.
In a recent study conducted amongst 4000 graduates in 75 countries, it was found that the greatest work benefit Millennials value the most is Training and Development. This is above cash bonuses and flexible working hours.
Millennial Employees
In the same study, Millennials expect to keep on learning as they enter the workplace and spend a high proportion of their time gaining new experiences and absorbing new information. 35% said they were attracted to employers who offer excellent training and development programmes for this reason and saw it as the top benefit they wanted from an employer.
One of the defining characteristics of the millennial generation is their affinity with the digital world. They have grown up with broadband, smartphones, laptops and social media being the norm and expect instant access to information. This access to information at their fingertips makes them want to develop themselves more as they understand the need to have a winning edge over others. Along with this, their exposure to the happenings in the world they are emotionally intelligent as well. With these combined traits of a desire to learn more and being people oriented along with them placing importance in Training and Development, they are the best options for trainers and mentors of today and for the future.
The millennials’ desire to learn and progress is apparent in their view of the benefits offered by employers. Millennials want to experience as much training as possible. If organizations work on engaging them with learning and development opportunities, they will see tremendous growth in the market.