Nestlé addresses youth unemployment with 20,000 job pledge

Nestlé has pledged to create 20,000 positions for young people across Europe over the next three years.

The Nestlé needs YOUth Initiative will offer jobs to 10,000 people under the age of 30 and create 10,000 apprentice positions and traineeships by 2016.

"Today, one in four young people in Europe does not have a job," said Laurent Freixe, Nestlé executive vice-president and zone director for Europe. He was speaking at the Nestlé needs YOUth launch event in Athens, the capital of Greece, a country where more than half of those under the age of 25 are without work. "As we continue to grow and invest in Europe, we want to do all we can to strengthen and develop their skills, and improve their employability, regardless of their level of education," he said.

European Council president Herman Van Rompuy said the initiative illustrated the unique role that the private sector could play in helping to resolve Europe’s jobs crisis. "We have to recognise that whereas governments can facilitate and support job creation, only private companies can create jobs or training opportunities," he said.
 

Read the full story in the December issue of Ethical Performance.