The Voice of Youth: a generation ready to take its place
The Voice of Youth survey, led by For Youth, the endowment fund of Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility, reveals a generation that is engaged, available, eager to take on responsibilities, and willing to contribute to society.
Conducted from January to April 2026 by Grand Public x Cluster 17, the study is based on a methodology combining four qualitative panels involving nearly 90 young people and a representative survey of 3,000 young people aged 15 to 30, built using their own words.
Far from the image of a withdrawn youth, the results show young people who continue to believe in work, in companies, and in their ability to take action: 81% say they are ready to take on responsibilities and 44% still consider building a career with the same employer. This openness comes with strong expectations: to find trust, recognition, and a real place within organizations and society.
These results paint the portrait of a generation that wants to take part in the major transformations of its time.
The study reveals a striking gap between how young people describe themselves and how they believe they are perceived by society:
This gap is one of the key findings of the study.
The study also highlights a profound redefinition of success. When asked, “What matters most to succeed in life?”, young people prioritize:
Work remains important, but it is part of a broader vision of personal fulfillment.
This engagement exists in a demanding context. The main difficulties identified are:
Mental health also emerges as a major issue:
Nevertheless, these challenges do not diminish their willingness to act or their desire to fully participate in economic and social life.
Young people strongly support a model of an educational and learning organization. More than 80% consider several initiatives effective: tailored training programs, mentoring by a senior outside direct reporting lines, hiring atypical profiles, reverse mentoring, and consulting young people on key decisions.
One word runs through all interviews: trust.
The Voice of Youth was not designed as just another study. We wanted to start from young people’s own words, their disagreements, and their way of seeing the world. The methodology is not secondary—it already reflects a democratic conviction. To understand young people, we must accept that they do not always ask questions the way we would in their place. Listening in this way already means giving them a place.
Designed as a long-term initiative, The Voice of Youth goes beyond a single study. Field reports, direct exchanges between young people and leaders, and meetings organized across regions aim to create spaces for dialogue where ideas flow both ways and concrete solutions emerge.
The ambition is not only to document a generation, but to highlight its resources, aspirations, and ability to contribute, in order to rebuild the conditions for meaningful dialogue between young people, businesses, associations, and institutions.
Through The Voice of Youth, the initiative seeks to restore a dialogue that, as the study’s findings show, is more necessary than ever.
The study calls less for talking about youth than for giving them a place. The results show a generation eager to contribute, engage, and take part in the country’s transformations. The challenge now is to create the conditions for this meeting.
Following the presentation of the survey, The Voice of Youth initiative will continue with workshops aimed at mobilizing the ecosystem of economic, social, and political decision-makers in support of young people.
Press Contacts
CA Personal Finance & Mobility : Claire Garcia presse@ca-cf.fr / +33 (0)6 80 41 17 77
For Youth : Constance de La Moussaye constance.delamoussaye@acc-conseil.fr / +33 (0)6 41 60 36 80
About For Youth
For Youth is the endowment fund of Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility. It supports the company’s philanthropic initiatives promoting equal opportunities and access to employment for young people.
Committed to acting as close as possible to real needs, For Youth has established a pragmatic governance model involving young people, notably through its Shadow Board—a committee of 10 young members, mostly external to the company and actively engaged in these issues. For Youth aims to develop initiatives with a systemic approach.
About Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility
CA Personal Finance & Mobility is a leader in personal financing and a provider of access to all mobility solutions in Europe, Morocco, and China. It offers, directly, at the point of sale, or via its partners’ e-commerce platforms, a wide range of financing solutions with associated services, including insurance, installment payment solutions, and mobility-related services.
Its objective is to address the challenges of the energy transition in mobility, housing, and consumption. CA Personal Finance & Mobility acts every day in the interest of its 17 million customers and society.
To accelerate its societal commitments, CA Personal Finance & Mobility has implemented robust governance involving its stakeholders to monitor the implementation of its commitment-driven corporate strategy across all its entities and business lines.