Nestlé needs YOUth
Our ambition is to help 10 million young people around the world access economic opportunities by 2030 through employment and employability, agripreneurship and entrepreneurship.
Young people are at the heart of regeneration and are our future. They are the entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow, and the next generation of farmers who will feed our growing population in sustainable ways. They help their communities thrive and their fresh ideas, diverse perspectives and energy benefit Nestlé. By giving them the skills, knowledge and opportunities to succeed, they can improve personal economic circumstances as well as the social development in their communities.
Bringing businesses together in support of the youth
Through The Global Alliance for YOUth we are working with other organizations to help millions of young people around the world find a job, thrive in the workplace or start a business. Led by Nestlé, the alliance of 25 like-minded companies provides training nurtures young entrepreneurs and offers first job opportunities. Our goal is to provide opportunities and a platform for young people, including representation at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Supporting young people through Nestlé needs YOUth
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Ten Years Young
Tracking our progress
In 2023, we commemorated ten years of Nestlé needs YOUth, our initiative to help young people gain access to economic opportunities by 2030 through employment and employability, agripreneurship and entrepreneurship. We are happy to report that we remain on track to reach our target - since we announced our commitment in 2017, we have reached more than five million young people. You can read more about the progress we've made in the Ten Years Young report.
Taking practical steps to help young people find work
Our approach is centered around Nestlé needs YOUth and targets three distinct focus areas:
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Agripreneurship: Inspiring the farmers of tomorrow We want to make farming more attractive to young people. That's why we're encouraging young people to create livelihoods as farmers, to run their farms as businesses and to embed regenerative agriculture methods in support of a just transition to regenerative food systems.Explore the Agripreneurship Academy on YouTube
We are teaching farmers the skills to make a decent living, and to create businesses that are financially robust and which can weather the ongoing challenges of climate change.
In addition, our Agripreneurship Academy provides access to online educational videos on regenerative farming, covering topics such as agroforestry, soil health and animal welfare, while our brands promote agripreneurship through sustainability plans such as the Nescafé Plan 2030.
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Entrepreneurship: Empowering young innovators Through our digital platform, the Nestlé Youth Entrepreneurship Platform (YEP), we want to empower young people to learn new skills, test an idea or grow their business – to help shape the future of food.Learn more
YEP brings together all of Nestlé's existing innovation initiatives in one place, giving young people free access to the Nestlé Entrepreneurship Academy, a catalogue of existing initiatives, innovator profiles and dedicated programs, as well as content and digital events. We want to help young people to develop the knowledge, skills and mindset for turning ideas into viable businesses – whether related to regenerative agriculture, plant-based products, packaging or nutrition.
One key program available on YEP is Nestlé's R+D Accelerator program, which welcomes students, startups and Nestlé ‘intrapreneurs’ at 12 sites across the world. Participants focus on taking disruptive food innovations from 'idea to shop' in just six months, with full access to Nestlé's infrastructure and expertise.
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Employment and employability: Helping young people secure jobs We're helping young people access economic opportunities by offering jobs, traineeships, internships (including our virtual Nesternships program), apprenticeships and training. Through these programs, young people can gain the skills and experiences required to secure a job and thrive in their position.Watch the video on YouTube
As a sign of how seriously we take this, our goal here is not simply to ensure a future talent pipeline for Nestlé, but to help equip young people with skills that can help secure them a position anywhere.
Youth summits around the world help us build awareness of employment and training opportunities for tens of thousands of young people. Separately, we provide online training, career guidance and opportunities for mentorship and building networks. We are continually adding new learning modules to our virtual internship program and rolling it out in new regions, as well as holding thousands of live and pre-recorded training sessions.
To help young Ukrainians affected by the invasion, in 2022 we created 34 additional internships throughout the business, providing placements across 22 countries by the end of the year. With visa requirements now streamlined in many countries, we hope to expand the program in 2023.
I’ve already grown professionally and personally. I love that I immediately get to put everything I study into practice, developing both hard and soft skills.
