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Nestlé Canada’s Youth Initiative Tackles Youth Employment in Canada

Nestlé Canada’s Youth Employment Survey reveals that 85% of Canadians believe youth are a dynamic force in today’s workplace; however, youth unemployment rate remains high
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TORONTO, ON

As youth unemployment rates reach 13.1 per cent in August 2015, Nestlé Canada today announced the launch of its Youth Initiative, a multifaceted program designed to provide tangible training opportunities and experiences for more than 5,000 young adults over the next three years. In conjunction with the launch, Nestlé also released results from its Youth Employment Survey which reveals that while youth unemployment is a prevalent issue across Canada, only 25 per cent of Canadians say their place of employment offers intern/apprenticeship programs to help youth gain entry level experience. Nestlé Canada is addressing this gap through its Youth Initiative, a program that has been designed to help prepare young Canadians for the workforce and increase their employability.

Despite limited opportunities, the survey finds that the majority of Canadians (85 per cent) agree that youth are a dynamic force in the workplace. Given today’s technologically-savvy environment, it is no surprise that Canadians deem the strongest skills and qualities that this demographic bring to the table are social media expertise (68 per cent) and IT knowledge (65 per cent). A strong percentage also recognize this group provides added value through their fresh perspective (58 per cent) and bridge the gap by tapping into today’s trends and latest innovations (55 per cent).

Over the next three years, Nestlé’s Youth Initiative will offer young Canadians the opportunity to develop their professional skills, increase their employability and expand their network. The value of this type of tangible work experience and hands-on training opportunity is unequivocal to Canadians, with nearly all (96 per cent) in agreement that internships and apprenticeship programs are valuable tools that help youth gain practical and valuable experience they can use to enter the workforce.

“We’re thrilled to be launching the Youth Initiative in Canada as we’ve experienced first-hand the tremendous value young adults can bring to an organization,” said Shelley Martin, President & CEO, Nestlé Canada. “The Youth Initiative focuses on an important need - helping students develop the necessary skills to prepare for the workforce while also building the pipeline for the next generation of leaders.”
 
By providing internships, formalized training programs and ‘readiness for work activities,’ Nestlé is committed to helping young adults prepare for the future. The program builds off of the success of Nestlé’s Global Youth Initiative and is an extension of many of the programs already in place in the Canadian marketplace.

The initiative consists of four pillars:

  • Get Skilled - Nestlé is committed to increasing internships by 25 per cent over three years across all Nestlé in Canada businesses.
  • Get Hired - By 2017, Nestlé will increase new grad hires by five per cent across all Nestlé in Canada businesses through formalized training programs and entry level positions.
  • Get Support – Nestlé is providing ‘readiness to work activities’ including networking events, career counselling, information sessions and recruitment workshops at universities and colleges. Nestlé is also the proud sponsor of the Queen’s Marketing Association Conference (QMAC) Case Competition, in which the winning team will win an internship at Nestlé.
  • Get More Opportunities – Nestlé is reaching out to partners to encourage them to open their doors to create opportunities for young adults across Canada.  

The Youth Initiative is part of Nestlé’s global efforts to help tackle the unemployment issue and develop talent for the company. For more information, please visit www.nestlejobs.ca.

About Nestlé Canada:
Backed by more than a century of research and experience, Nestlé Canada's vision is to be the most trusted and respected food and nutrition company in Canada, bringing Good Food, Good Life to Canadians. Nestlé in Canada manufactures some of the world's most recognized and trusted brands, including STOUFFER'S, LEAN CUISINE, NESQUIK, NESTLÉ GOOD START, HÄAGEN-DAZS, KIT KAT, NESCAFÉ, NESTLÉ PURE LIFE and NESTLÉ DRUMSTICK. Nestlé in Canada employs approximately 3,500 people in more than 20 manufacturing sites, sales offices and distribution centres across the country.

About the survey:
An online survey of 1,555 Canadians was conducted between Monday September 14 and Thursday September 17 using LegerWeb. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error or +/-2.5%, 19 times out of 20. Leger’s online panel has more than 400,000 members nationally – with between 10,000 and 20,000 new members added each month, and has a retention rate of 90%. 

For more information contact:
Corporate Affairs Nestlé Canada 
[email protected]
416-218-2688Nestlé Canada’s Youth Initiative Tackles Youth Employment in Canada