Nestlé pledges 3,000 job opportunities for youngsters

The promise was part of the wider Nestlé Needs YOUth pledge to offer 35,000 work opportunities for young people in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa within the next four years. And it builds on the 2,000-plus employment opportunities created since 2014, said the manufacturer.

Nestlé UK & Ireland chairman and ceo Fiona Kendrick said: “Nurturing young talent is one of our core beliefs and at the heart of what we do at Nestlé. We have been very privileged to have many young people join us, learn and build life-long careers with us.”​

It was important Nestlé continued to lead the way in helping to “support and develop the young talent of today to become the future leaders of tomorrow​”, said Kendrick, who is also president of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

‘A fantastic first step’​

“Opportunities such as apprenticeships provide a fantastic first step on the employment ladder,”​ she said.

Launched in 2013, the Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative had created more than 2,000 employment opportunities for young people under the age of 30, exceeding the initial target of 1,900, claimed the manufacturer.

Nestlé had also engaged with more than 3,000 students through face-to-face workshops and delivered over 500 Readiness for Work events across the country.

To support its commitment, Nestlé had boosted the range of opportunities available to young people by launching new apprenticeship and graduate roles in three key areas.

Those were: food manufacture and confectionery, new IT apprenticeships and the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship scheme.

Nestlé had also claimed to have made significant changes to its Academy recruitment process. That was achieved through transition to competency-based methodology across all of its programmes to ensure maximum diversity, enabling candidates from all backgrounds to progress through the recruitment process.

200 leading companies​

In 2014, Nestlé expanded its Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative in Europe to create the Alliance for YOUth project. This partnership, between more than 200 leading companies, was designed to help young people prepare to enter the professional world, and improve their chances of finding employment in a challenging job market.

The alliance today (November 15) pledged to offer 230,000 new work opportunities for young Europeans between 2017 and 2020. Training and jobs had already been provided for 115,000 young Europeans since 2014, claimed the alliance.

Meanwhile, the latest opportunities in UK food and drink manufacturing, visit FoodManJobs​.