ARLINGTON, VA, USA – As the U.S. experiences increasing job vacancies and skills gaps in essential areas such as manufacturing and warehousing, Nestlé in the U.S. today has announced it is expanding its career exploration and social impact initiative, Nestlé Needs YOU, which aims to empower and prepare the next generation to thrive and make their impact in the world.
Through the initiative, the company aims to reach more than half a million people in the U.S. by 2025 to help ensure thriving and resilient communities for future generations. Nestlé Needs YOU will leverage the company’s global scale and more than 150 years of experience to help equip the future workforce, regardless of their field or level of experience, with skill-building and access to opportunities through three key pillars:
- Employability – Supporting early careerists as they explore potential pathways and increase their employability with new knowledge and skills, by delivering career resources, training, and on-the-job experience at Nestlé.
- Entrepreneurship – Identifying and nurturing the next creators and doers by helping them start, grow and lead their business through access to funding, professional development opportunities, mentoring and networking.
- Agripreneurship – Enabling future agriculturalists to build knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial mindsets to help solve key issues impacting communities and the economy, such as supplier diversity and sustainability.
“Nestlé has a long history of supporting people in our communities as they prepare to make their impact in the world, and Nestlé Needs YOU will help ensure the future workforce is equipped with the information and skills they need to thrive in their careers,” said Judy Cascapera, Chief People Officer, Nestlé North America. “Whether they are future employees who will power Nestlé, entrepreneurs who build the next hot start-up, or farmers who grow raw materials to feed our communities, developing a skilled and future-ready workforce is more important than ever.”
The Nestlé Needs YOU initiative has already reached 80,000 people in the U.S. in 2022 through key programming and events. These include initiatives created through strategic partnerships with organizations that support and empower the next generation across employability, entrepreneurship and agripreneurship, such as The Manufacturing Institute, SkillsUSA, Girls with Impact, Future Farmers of America, and the National Retail Federation Foundation, among others.
Programming for this year includes the development of educational materials such as videos and classroom content to help students learn about different career opportunities, launching a global Young Entrepreneurship platform to provide free innovation training and access to events around the globe for future entrepreneurs, hosting a variety of events to help increase knowledge and provide visibility into different career paths, and expanding Nestlé’s apprenticeship programs to additional areas of the business, beginning with Supply Chain.
Nestlé in the U.S. joined Nestlé Canada to unveil Nestlé Needs YOU at an inaugural virtual fair for high schoolers, college students and early careerists. Running from August 9th to August 31st, the fair is designed to help attendees develop personal and professional skills and explore possible career paths.
