KUALA LUMPUR (22 August 2026) – More than 150 young Malaysians gathered at IQI Headquarters in Millerz Square on 22 August for a one-day programme on artificial intelligence, content marketing and entrepreneurship, held against a labour market in which youth unemployment runs at more than three times the national rate.
IQI Youth Connect 2026, powered by Juwai IQI under the IQI Youth initiative, was built around a single question: how does the next generation stay employable as AI changes the way people work, create and build businesses?
Of those who attended, 52% were still university students, placing the majority of the room at the point where a change of direction is still cheap to make.
1. Youth jobless rate more than three times the national average
Malaysia’s overall unemployment rate stood at 2.9% in March 2026, close to a decade low. For Malaysians aged 15 to 24, the rate was 10.2%, involving around 290,000 young people, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
A second figure points to a deeper problem. DOSM reported skill-related underemployment at 35.2% of employed degree and diploma holders in the first quarter of 2026, meaning more than a third of graduates and diploma holders in work are in roles below their qualifications.
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| National unemployment rate | 2.9% |
| Youth unemployment rate, ages 15 to 24 | 10.2% |
| Unemployed Malaysians aged 15 to 24 | approximately 290,000 |
| Skill-related underemployment, degree and diploma holders | 35.2% |
Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia, Labour Force Report, March 2026 and Q1 2026.
The pattern is not a shortage of jobs. It is a mismatch between what graduates were trained to do and what employers are now hiring for, a gap widening as AI automates the routine entry-level tasks that have traditionally served as a first rung.
2. Programme built on demonstrations rather than speeches
Daniel Ho, Co-Founder and Managing Director of IQI Global, opened the programme with a keynote on why the next generation needs to move quickly as technology reshapes industries and career paths.
Rather than relying on motivational talks, the day was structured around live demonstrations, keynote sessions, panel discussions and frameworks participants could apply directly to their own work.
Sessions covered AI-assisted content creation, digital audience growth, productivity systems, personal branding and entrepreneurship. Participants left with an AI prompt library, content creation blueprints and a 21-day growth framework.
3. What Did Participants Learn at Youth Connect 2026?
The program combined practical workshops with real-world examples from practitioners working across AI, content creation, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
a. AI and Content Growth
Aaron Siow, Group Vice President at IQI, led a live session titled 2,000 Followers in 30 Days: The Claude System You Can Copy.
The session demonstrated how AI tools such as Claude could be incorporated into a repeatable content and audience-growth system, giving participants a clearer view of how AI can support content planning and execution.
Participants were also provided with practical materials including an AI prompt library, content creation blueprints, and a 21-day growth framework.
b. Agentic AI and the Future of Work
Dave Chong, CEO of DJC AI Sdn Bhd and Group Vice President at IQI, introduced participants to agentic AI in his session, “One Person, One AI Team: How Agentic AI Changes the Way We Work.”
The session explored multi-agent workflows and how AI systems can support individuals across connected tasks and processes. The focus was on using technology to increase output and build smarter ways of working rather than simply automating isolated tasks.
c. Personal Branding and Entrepreneurship
Bryan Low, Co-Founder of Content Creation Academy, led the anchor keynote on personal branding, drawing from his experience building an audience of more than 1.55 million followers and generating over 150 million views across digital platforms.
His session explored how young professionals can position themselves online, grow an audience, and understand different content monetization models.
As the creator economy continues to give individuals more ways to build visibility and income online, the session encouraged participants to view a personal brand as a long-term career asset rather than just a social media presence.
4. Who Shared Their Insights at IQI Youth Connect 2026?
Youth Connect brought together leaders, creators, marketers and technology practitioners who offered different perspectives on career development in an AI-driven environment.
Alongside Daniel Ho, Bryan Low, Dave Chong and Aaron Siow, the event featured LeAnn Lai (second from left), a full-time freelancer and content creator who has trained more than 300 entrepreneurs and built a community of over 150,000 followers.
Hannah Teh (Third from left), Social Media Team Lead at IQI Global, shared perspectives from campaigns that have reached more than 2.3 million viewers, while Jasmine Yap (first from left), Digital Marketing Manager and Content Creator at IQI Global, moderated discussions around audience engagement and digital growth.
Together, the speaker lineup gave participants exposure to different sides of digital entrepreneurship, from AI systems and content creation to audience growth and personal positioning.
5. Networking sessions built into the schedule
Time was set aside during lunch, an interactive AI trivia session and a closing high tea for participants to meet mentors, agency leaders and other young people exploring similar paths.
The emphasis reflects a practical constraint facing new entrants to the Malaysian job market, where a significant share of hiring runs through referral and personal networks, the asset fresh graduates typically have least of.
6. IQI Youth positions skills, visibility and networks as one problem
Through the IQI Youth initiative, Juwai IQI is building a platform intended to help young Malaysians strengthen skills, expand networks and understand how technology is reshaping careers and entrepreneurship.
The programme combined AI, marketing, entrepreneurship, content creation and networking into a single day rather than treating them as separate disciplines, on the reasoning that technical knowledge alone does not convert into employment without confidence, communication, adaptability and visibility.
Youth unemployment remains a national indicator that private-sector programmes alone will not move. What initiatives of this kind can change is narrower and more immediate: whether an individual graduate enters the market with evidence of applied AI skills, or without it.
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