Who are we?
We are 22 international private companies. Together, we employ more than 1.5 million people around the globe. We are already committed to supporting young people by:
- Offering first job experiences.
- Running educational programs to help youth develop the necessary skills to increase their chances to find a job.
- Promoting and supporting young entrepreneurs.
The Context
The Context
According to the International Labour Organization
- More than 190 million people around the globe are unemployed, out of which 70 million are young people.
- Young people are 3 times less likely to be employed than adults.
- It is estimated that over 60% of the children entering primary school today will have jobs that do not exist yet.
We believe that in many cases traditional education, if available, no longer prepares young people for the current and future world of work. Governments need to create the right conditions, but corporations being on the front line are in a unique position to make a contribution in both emerging and developed countries. Together, we can create concrete plans to drive measurable change.
Our Mission
The Global Alliance for YOUth is a business-driven movement of like-minded organizations passionate about working together to help young people around the globe get the necessary skills to thrive in the world of work, today and tomorrow.
We are convinced that by mobilizing the business community through a Global Alliance, we can help young people on a larger scale and have a bigger impact than we can individually.
Together, we are committed to providing a better future for younger generations. We want to create bridges between today’s context and tomorrow’s skills needs. To ensure that all youth are future ready.
Our Focus Areas
- We aim to provide youth with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to work in the 21st century through learning experiences. We do it by leveraging our scale, resources and network to amplify our impact.
- We support, advocate for and develop educational programs that enable young people to successfully transition from education and training to employment.
- We support young entrepreneurs and promote the Entrepreneurial Mindset
Our Ambition
Our Ambition
By 2022 we have the common ambition to support 15 million young people, in order to help them build employability skills for the future: Digital, Soft Skills, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Career Advice and Entrepreneurship. This commitment represents an increase from the ambition of 6 million opportunities announced in 2019.
Together we will learn from each other, leverage our networks, build on successes and help young people to navigate the rapidly and ever changing work environment.
20 million young people upskilled by the Global Alliance for YOUth in 2020
Vevey, April 29, 2021 The Global Alliance for YOUth has announced today that despite the impact of COVID-19, the Alliance has supported 20 million young people in 2020 with relevant training to develop the skills to find a job or start a business. This milestone was achieved thanks to the efforts of the 22 private sector members companies. Since joining forces at the World Economic Forum in Davos 2019, the Global Alliance for YOUth has already helped more than 15 million young people build employability skills for the future.
According to the ILO (International Labour Organization), the impact of the pandemic on young people is deep and disproportionate. Severe disruption to learning and work, compounded by the health crisis, has seen a deterioration in young people’s mental well-being. During these unprecedented times, the Global Alliance for YOUth is more committed than ever, to continue to support youth, by helping them acquire important skills such as digital and soft skills, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), receive career advice, and get support for their entrepreneurship through the programs developed by the members of the Global Alliance for Youth. The Alliance is a business-driven movement of 22 international private companies, working together to help young people around the globe get the necessary skills to succeed in the world of work, today and tomorrow.
Laurent Freixe, Nestlé’s CEO for the Americas and Chair of The Global Alliance for YOUth stressed the increasing importance of working with like-minded private sector companies to maximize the impact. “Young people are more than ever in need of help to enter and develop in the labor market. Corporations are key actors of measurable change in the youth employment space. Hence the importance of joining forces and working together to support youth employability and provide solutions to youth unemployment.
To date, 22 global companies have joined the Alliance: Accenture, The Adecco Group, BT, Cargill, CEMEX, Egon Zehnder, Engie, EY, Facebook, Firmenich, L’Oréal, Mercer, Microsoft, Nestlé, NielsenIQ, Publicis Groupe, SAP, Sodexo, Starbucks, Rockwell Automation, Willis Towers Watson and White & Case. The Alliance is proud to work with non-private sector partners such as the International Labour Organization, The Global Apprenticeship Network and the World Bank through initiatives such as Decent Jobs for Youth and Solutions 4 Youth Employment. The number of young people supported through the Alliance for Youth program has been verified in an independent limited assurance opinion issued by the Bureau Veritas UK Limited. The full statement including limitations and exclusions can be found here.
Nestlé founded the regional Alliance for YOUth in Europe in 2014 with the purpose of helping prepare young people to enter the professional world. After its successful launch, the Alliance was expanded to the Pacific Alliance countries in 2017 (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), the Mercosur countries in 2018 (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Sub-Saharan Africa region in 2019 (South Africa, Angola and Ivory Coast). At Nestlé we are committed to helping the youth by joining forces with our colleagues from the private sector to provide access to the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the world of work.