Nestlé Needs YOUth Impacts 20,000 as Region’s Youth Unemployment Reaches 29%

In a region where youth unemployment continues to rise and is estimated at nearly 29 percent this International Youth Day, higher than any other in the world, Nestlé Needs YOUth initiatives have impacted more than 20,000 young people across the Middle East since 2016, “as we pursue ongoing efforts to tackle youth unemployment in the region,” said Karine Antoniades, Nestlé Middle East Public Affairs and Creating Shared Value Manager.

“We continue to meet our commitment to Foster Career Opportunities for Youth in the Middle East, with 70 percent of Nestlé’s new hires consisting of youth, and through various initiatives that strive to enhance youth skills, encourage employability, and promote career progression.”

These include activities to Get Hired, Get Support, Get Skilled, and Get More Opportunities, broadly delivered as follows:

-     The region’s Alliance for Youth brings together companies that share the objective of tackling the Middle East’s unemployment rate, now includes 14 partners and is also well on its way to collectively hiring 3,000 young people and impacting 50,000 by 2020. Multisectoral partnerships are also being developed in various countries with governments, NGOs, universities, and companies to encourage youth training and employment.