The Summit for Employability will be held by the Swiss international company in Cali on June 29th. The 2008 ...
The Summit for Employability will be held by the Swiss international company in Cali on June 29th.
The 2008 European crisis was the trigger for Nestlé to start actively addressing the most vulnerable population group in terms of employment: young people.
Back in 2013, when the youth unemployment rate in Spain was around 60%, the company launched the Initiative for Youth, which trains them to get their first job.
According to Javier Texidó, president of Nestlé Colombia, the Initiative was launched in the country in 2015, based on four pillars: creating employment opportunities in businesses, removing internal barriers when hiring young people. “Several companies demand experience from young people, which they lack as they have not been given the opportunity to work. This vicious circle must be broken to prevent building the conditions that may lead young people to take the wrong path”, said Texidó.
The second pillar is training: providing tools for young people to be trained and become employable. “This can be achieved via apprenticeships, scholarships, and skills’ development”.
The third pillar is generating a snowball effect among supply chain stakeholders, through partnerships that encourage other companies to follow Nestlé’s example. “Everything we do at the Initiative for Youth is part of the supply chain. That is to say, it is implemented in activities that are linked to the food production and commercialization industry, such as gastronomy, bar tendering and products manipulation. This shall make it easier for us to offer them employment opportunities”.
The four pillar is guidance, and it includes different elements. One of them is the webpage where young people receive basic guidance on how to present their resumes, tips for having a job interview, and how to outstand among other candidates.
“We found out that there is a huge gap between what companies expect and what young people can or think they can offer. They do not even know how to properly present a resume and highlight their strengths”. The goal for the next three years is to have an impact on 155,000 youngsters in Colombia, and properly prepare them to get a job.
Nestlé made an agreement with the Pacific Alliance countries to develop an annual event in different locations. This year, the third summit will be developed in Cali, on June 29th, where there will be spaces to establish dialogue opportunities among 1,500 youngsters, the Mexican, Chilean, Peruvian and Colombian government, the academy, and the private sector, to promote employment opportunities, enhance entrepreneurship and innovation.
“During this forum, we will debate and reflect on the jobs of the future. We want to enhance the value of technical training among young people who are just entering the labour market. We are interested in developing skills and competences in such a way tht people become curious, adaptable and innovative. Universities lack such curiosity”.
According to Texidó, young people must understand that automated processes must be performed by machines and that human beings must handle analysis, innovation, curiosity and creativity. If a person performs mechanical jobs, his/her job will disappear in the next few years.”
Prior to the Cali summit, virtual campuses are being launched for young people from the four Pacific Alliance countries. These youngsters are gathering virtually to start working on their interventions for the Summit. “We will develop different panels where young people will tell us what the jobs of the future might look like. Although we can have good ideas, the best thing is for them to tell us where we are heading”.
