MILAN – The companies participating in the initiative, “Alliance for YOUth” have offered in all Europe work placements and internships to 50,000 young Europeans in one year, amounting to half the 100,000 opportunities they promised last year to create within 3 years. Launched in 2014 by Nestlé, “Alliance for YOUth” is an initiative now being put into action by over 200 companies, in order to promote youth employment in Europe.
Readiness for work
The participating companies have moreover collaborated with over 5,400 programmes, called "Readiness for work", providing guidance such as support in writing CVs, preparation for job interviews, participation in job fairs and other activities aimed at young graduates. “After one year of activity, we can say that "Alliance for YOUth" has created a new dynamic – declared Luis Cantarell, Executive Vice President of Nestlé – In over 60% of cases, since starting to participate in our "Alliance", our partners have already optimised the selection procedure and employment possibilities for young people”.
Apprenticeships and internships lead to a steady job
According to the results of a survey conducted by the market research and analysis company Nielsen amongst 635 managers and HR professionals at 70 business partners of “Alliance for YOUth” and in 22 European countries, 66% of those interviewed consider that training apprenticeships and internships increase the probability of accessing a stable job. Many countries, especially in Southern and Eastern Europe, are now rarely prepared to offer this type of dual education system, which combines normal teaching activities in the classroom with periods of practical training in companies.
The role of the government
In the development phase of dual education programmes, the partners of “Alliance for YOUth” noted the importance of the role governments can and should play in encouraging better collaboration between companies and schools or universities. The involvement of public institutions is also fundamental to the promotion of these programmes in the most diverse business sectors and amongst companies of varying profiles in Europe.
The appeal was launched at the time of a debate in the European Parliament. The event witnessed the participation of the European Commission for Employment, Marianne Thyssen, numerous members of the European Parliament, representatives of youth organisations, and supervisors and youth from the companies participating in “Alliance for YOUth”.
In the course of her involvement in the debate, the European Commissioner for Employment, Marianne Thyssen declared: "The rapid execution of the Youth Guarantee Scheme, in close collaboration with companies, is crucial for facilitating the transition from school to the world of work and to help young people find a job. The Member States must take advantage of this opportunity and financial support made available by the EU. Last week, the Commission transferred around 1 billion euros to Member States for helping 650,000 young people find employment, an apprenticeship/internship position, or a further course of study."
The Sanpellegrino Campus project
Spearheading the Nestlé project in Italy is Sanpellegrino Campus, a multi-annual project conceived to support young people through an increasingly close collaboration between universities and companies. One of the company’s objectives is to transfer the necessary tools to the young people for them to be able to face the world of work. Making up this macro-project are the San Pellegrino Campus Prize, which rewards merit and reached its third second cycle this year; San Pellegrino Sales Campus, an activity which offers in-house and on-campus training opportunities to talented new graduates, and San Pellegrino Meets University, a project which makes the company’s management skills accessible to Italian universities, in order to reinforce their theoretical knowledge and arrange hands-on experience at its factories.