Europe is in the midst of a youth unemployment crisis as one in four young Europeans (5.6 million people in total) aged 18 to 25 are unemployed. The International Labor Organization estimates that youth unemployment across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Developed Economies reached 18.1% in 2012. A lack of vocational and educational training schemes, unprepared job applicants, and a stagnant European economy are all to blame.

Concerned with these trends, Nestlé created the ‘Nestlé Needs YOUth’ program in late 2013, with the aim of hiring 10,000 young people and 10,000 trainees or apprentices below 30 years of age in Europe by 2016.

Furthermore, as part of the program, Nestlé joined forces in the course of 2014 with 200 other companies to form ‘Alliance for YOUth’, which mobilizes companies to commit to developing programs to provide meaningful work experiences, generate jobs, and offer training opportunities for more than 100,000 youth across Europe.

In light of the program’s success in Europe and its relevance worldwide, the company is expanding this program globally. The expansion started in Mexico, reaching by October 2015 all the countries in Zone Americas, including the USA.

Download the WBCSD case study below to read more about Nestlé’s approach to help tackling youth unemployment.