Employability is a key ingredient of social development, especially for younger generations. Currently, the U.S. is experiencing high levels of job vacancies and skill gaps in key areas such as manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing. As demand for diverse suppliers increases, fewer young people are choosing farming as a career – leaving us with an aging supply chain, lacking diversity. However, younger generations are interested in entrepreneurship, with some studies reporting that Gen Z are 55% more likely to want to start a business than millennials.
We created Nestlé Needs YOU to ensure thriving, resilient communities for future generations. This initiative spans our entire value chain, from the sourcing of raw materials to the manufacturing and distribution of our products.
Our ambition is to impact more than half a million next generation talent in the U.S. by 2025.
With sustainability and digitization at the core of what we do, Nestlé needs YOU prepares and empowers the next generation, regardless of their field or level of expertise, through three key pillars: employability, entrepreneurship, and agripreneurship.
Employability
To help early careerists thrive and make their impact in the workplace of today and tomorrow, Nestlé provides access to resources for all phases of the career journey: from exploration and education to paid, on-the-job experiences.
Over several years, Nestlé in the U.S. has hired thousands of interns and trainees; our programs combine technical education with applied work experience across manufacturing and corporate functions. We also support apprentices, empowering participants to become experts in skilled trades. In 2022, we are expanding our apprenticeship opportunities within our Supply Chain function to include entry-level operators as well as our first-ever professional and managerial-level apprenticeships.
Nestlé has also teamed up with likeminded organizations that support and empower the workforce of tomorrow:
Through our partnership with The Manufacturing Institute we’re working to reduce the skills gap in the U.S., increase the number of students enrolling in technical and vocational schools, and reshape how Americans view modern manufacturing careers. This includes sponsorship of Creators Wanted, a national initiative developed to build the manufacturing workforce of tomorrow.
Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs inspires the next generation to discover manufacturing careers. In 2022, we’re serving as the proud national sponsor of all 174 Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs manufacturing camps, including their new inclusion camps designed for young people with disabilities. At these camps, 3,200+ students across the U.S. and Canada will discover their passion for working with their hands by designing and creating products for manufacturing-related projects.
In collaboration with the The National Retail Federation Foundation, Nestlé developed an educational video and associated classroom activity to showcase careers in the Supply Chain industry; these materials were distributed to 7,500+ students nationwide.
Nespresso is proud to support Thrive Scholars to provide high-achieving, low-income students with the financial, academic, and social-emotional support they need to get into a top college, achieve academic success, and pursue fulfilling careers.
Nestlé Purina partners with Starkloff Disability Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities participate fully and equally in all aspects of society, inducing preparing candidates for competitive employment and preparing companies to welcome them.
Entrepreneurship
Through Nestlé needs YOU, we’re taking our spirit of innovation beyond our walls to provide the next generation of entrepreneurs access to funding, personal and professional development opportunities, mentoring, and networking.
Recognized by Fast company as one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators, Nestlé aims to inspire and equip the next generation of creators and doers.
Our passion for supporting the innovators of tomorrow can be seen through the below initiatives:
- Nestlé USA teamed up with Girls With Impact, a non-profit dedicated to equipping girls with the skills and confidence to become the leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators of tomorrow, to launch an innovation competition titled “Big Ideas. Better World.” The campaign encouraged young women ages 12-29 to submit their ideas for creating a more sustainable future through the power of food. Each participant received a full scholarship to the Girls with Impact Leadership Academy, with winner Saanya Ali receiving mentorship from Nestlé’s R&D Accelerator team member Elizabeth Nolan as well as a $5,000 investment to progress her business idea SOIRÉE, a venture focused on reviving the lost art of entertaining.
- Nestlé Purina PetCare is strengthening the future veterinary workforce by providing mentorship, training, and educational opportunities to veterinarian students and recent graduates enrolled in its ambassador program.
- Nestlé Professional’s Young Culinary Talents (YOCUTA) Program, ProStart, is designed to help young people develop theoretical and practical skills that will help them thrive in the culinary industry. We’ve also committed $1 million dollars to support the next generation pursuing a career in the restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality fields through the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s ProStart program.
Agripreneurship
Nestlé Needs YOU spans our entire value chain – that’s why we’re focused on not just supporting current farmer training but also equipping future agripreneurs to solve key issues impacting our communities and economy such as supplier diversity and sustainability.
With an eye towards regenerative agriculture and innovation, Nestlé is dedicated to bolstering the farmers of tomorrow through various initiatives:
- Nestlé invests in young farmers pioneering new sustainable practices. Carnation supplier Trinkler Dairy Farm is one example of agripreneurship in action, as they chart a path to carbon neutrality, a key milestone in our $10 million investment with the U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative.
- Nestlé representatives bring insider knowledge to conferences from 4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization empowering nearly six million young people with the skills to lead for a lifetime through programs in science, health, and civic engagement – Nestlé representatives joined the 2022 National 4-H Youth Summit for Agri-Science, a conference for high school students to develop the skills and knowledge needed for the challenges facing agriculture, food security, and sustainability.
- We partner with Future Farmers of America (FFA) in a variety of initiatives. We distributed a virtual teacher workshop kit with activity and video to 17,000 students via the FFA, equipping them to be employment-ready. Also, our teams attend local career days organized by the FFA, providing opportunities for students to explore different career paths in the food science industry. One such event in Leipsic, Ohio hosted approximately 600 students from 15 different schools.