The discussion in this article focuses on needs analysis carried out to examine the self-management and academic skills of 36 form four students from the Bottom 40 or B40 socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants are from a school located in a semi-urban area of Selangor, one of the states in Malaysia. The needs analysis, carried out within the context of a three-day workshop ‘Memartabatkan Akal Budi Remaja Selangor’, and its findings directly inform module refinement to ensure relevance and effectiveness. It aims to assess critical competencies such as goal setting, time management, and digital literacy, with a focus on their implications for educational equity and social mobility. By employing a descriptive quantitative research design, data were collected through a pre-survey administered prior to the workshop commencement. The analysis highlights participants’ foundational strengths in ethical information use and short-term academic planning but reveals significant gaps in advanced goal-setting, strategic time management, and future-oriented planning. These gaps highlight the importance of targeted interventions to equip students with essential skills for academic success and long-term socio-economic upliftment. The findings have implications for educational policy and practice, advocating for structured, context-specific programs to address the unique challenges faced by students of low-income backgrounds, thereby fostering equity and empowerment