Nestle, the world’s biggest food company and a major employer in Europe, plans to recruit 20,000 young people as the continent grapples with a youth unemployment crisis that is sapping consumer confidence.
Laurent Freixe, Nestle’s Europe boss, presented the plan on Thursday in Brussels to Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor as European Union leaders gathered for a summit set to focus on tackling youth unemployment.
“Governments cannot solve the problem alone,” he said in an interview at Nestle’s headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland. “In the context where Europe is ageing and indebted, Europe needs its youth at work. We need to replace the generation of the baby boomers when they retire.”
Nestle plans to offer jobs to 10,000 people under the age of 30 by 2016 and create a further 10,000 traineeships and apprentice positions. It will also push its 63,000 suppliers to follow suit, and offer the new hires coaching and mentoring.
“Hopefully we will inspire other businesses to be part of the solution,” he said. “By investing in Europe, by growing in Europe, we believe we can do something that is good for our business but also which is good for society at large.”
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor
via Nestle to help 20,000 young people find jobs in Europe | Reuters.
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