Nestlé and the Alliance for YOUth, launched in 2014 to bring together entities to support youth career development, will be creating 300,000 new opportunities for young people across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa by 2025. The announcement comes at a time when youth unemployment rates in the Middle East and North Africa, already the world’s highest at 29 percent according to the World Economic Forum, are being further exacerbated by the COVID-19 [1] pandemic which has led nearly half the region’s young people to consider leaving their countries.
“We remain committed to supporting the career development of youth in our region, offering various opportunities for learning as well as creating at least 1,000 new jobs for people under the 30 years old by 2025,” said Remy Ejel, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé Middle East and North Africa. “We will also aim to enhance understanding of the present and future of work by training the young generation on digitization and environmental sustainability.”
Nestlé’s efforts are part of its Nestlé needs YOUth initiative, with specific actions in the Middle East and North Africa that help meet the company’s regional commitment to Foster Career Opportunities for Youth by enhancing skills, and promoting employability and career progression. These include:
- Hiring: Nestlé has hired more than 2,600 young people under the age of 30 in the region since 2016, totaling 70% of the company’s new hires during the period.
- Readiness for Work events: implemented by working with universities across the region to offer expert advice to students in the areas of career advising, employability, business and corporate environment, and leadership. These impacted 35,000 people since 2016 through 380 events held across the region. They include workshops, CV clinics, and mock interviews.
- Online “readiness for work” activities: Nestlé will continue to organize and take part in digital career fairs and workshops to support young job seekers. Thirty virtual internships and 19 virtual career fairs and readiness for work events have already been offered in the Middle East and North Africa during the current pandemic, impacting 3,600 youth.
- Digital skills: Nestlé will be further rolling out its YOUth eBusiness Academy. Trainees enrolled in the program will gain advanced digital skills (search, data, e-commerce) and obtain an official certification upon completion. Specific attention will also be given to digital skills in factories.
- Internships: 2,000 internships and traineeships since 2014.
- The Nestlé Center of Excellence: Launched in 2012 to support employability among university graduates. It offers training programs in Nutrition, Business, and Sales, and has so far trained 170 people and hired 42.
Young people interested in exploring opportunities offered by Nestlé can find more information through visiting Nestlé’s MENA career page me.jobs.nestle.com
For more information, please contact:
Layal Dalal, Nestlé Media Relations Manager, Middle East and North Africa
Email: [email protected]
About the Alliance for YOUth
Following the success of the Alliance in Europe, Nestlé launched an Alliance for Youth in the Middle East and North Africa in 2017 to bring together companies engaged in helping young people enhance their skills and develop careers in the region where youth unemployment rates reach 29%.
The Alliance so far includes more than 40 partners across the region, with members encouraged to work towards:
- The supply of quality internship and traineeship positions, as well as programs facilitating labor mobility
- The participation of member companies and the Alliance in readiness for work programs (career consultation, CV clinics, mock interviews, etc.) in close coordination with educational institutions and youth organizations
- The sharing of knowledge and experiences with education providers, authorities at all levels, business organizations, and youth associations
[1] According to the findings of the 12th Annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey 2020: http://www.arabyouthsurvey.com/pdf/downloadwhitepaper/AYS%202020-WP_ENG_0510_Single-Final.pdf
About Nestlé Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Nestlé’s heritage in the Middle East and North Africa goes back over 100 years with the sale of the first Infant Cereals in Egypt. Today, Nestlé operates 25 Food & Beverage factories across the 19 countries of the MENA region, and provides direct employment to more than 15,000 people who are all committed to Nestlé’s purpose of unlocking the power of food to enhance the quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. Nestlé MENA also provides indirect employment across the region to several thousand more.
The Nestlé portfolio in the region currently exceeds 60 innovative product brands in a wide range of categories: Dairy, Infant Nutrition, Coffee and Creamers, Confectionery, Bottled Water, Breakfast Cereals, Culinary products, Health Science, and Pet Care, among others. Nestlé NIDO, Nestlé CERELAC, Nestlé NAN, S-26, PROGRESS, NESCAFÉ, NESPRESSO, Bonjorno Café, Coffee-mate, KitKat, MAGGI, Nestlé FITNESS, Nestlé Grain d’Or, Nestlé Pure Life, OPTIFAST, and PURINA Friskies are just some of the brands available in the Middle East and North Africa.
To know more, you can visit:
Website: www.nestle-mena.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NestleMiddleeastNorthafrica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nestleme
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NestléMENA