The Ivorian subsidiary of the Swiss agri-food giant Nestlé recorded “ more than 80% integration rate among the 122 young people trained” by the group’s experts and partners.
According to Ms. Mame Pane Sakho, Director of Institutional Communication and Public Affairs at Nestlé Côte d’Ivoire, speaking of the 80% of beneficiaries out of the 122 young people trained, “ they were recruited by Nestlé, but also by other companies after seven months in the Training Center ».
The Ivorian Minister of Technical Education, Vocational Training, and Apprenticeship, formalized on Wednesday July 31, 2024, the approval of the subsidiary’s Training Center in Abidjan, during the end of studies ceremony of the eighth promotion of the Center.
Since 2017, the Training Center has positioned itself as a model of private initiative with a view to contributing to the employability of young people. More than 100 young people trained, eight promotions, it records a rate of more than 80% professional integration of its trainees.
Twenty students in first and final year were immersed on December 11, 2024, in the company’s different departments. The company’s Open Days are also a continuation of its various activities offered free of charge to young people, with a view to preparing them for the challenges linked to employment and entrepreneurship.
During the year, the subsidiary organized with the coalition of companies committed to the employability of young people, the Alliance For Youth, a career fair at the Cocody Town Hall in August, then a Youth Campus in November at the Lycée sectoral professional of Yopougon, always with a view to providing the tools and advice necessary for the professional integration of young people.
Youth employability
“Madam, I have no questions. I just want to tell you that I’m glad to see you. It gives me the courage to continue because I know that I can become like you,” says Grace Blandine Zio, a student in final year C at the Lycée Moderne Alassane Ouattara in Anyama.
The intervention of Ms. Aminata Traoré, chief accountant of the agri-food group in Ivory Coast and Senegal, was inspiring for the learners. The enthusiasm of young high school student Blandine Zio was palpable this Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
The objective of the agri-food company remains the same: Contribute to the employability of young people. To do this, it allows young people to project themselves by meeting predecessors who work in different fields, so that they are better informed when making their career choices.
But are these meetings enough to reduce the gap between the population of young graduates looking for opportunities, and the availability of these opportunities themselves? Faced with this question, the subsidiary associated several other companies with this project for greater employability.
« You cannot be employed if you are not employable. It’s a process. You have to know how to create a CV and even look for work. You have to know how to do a job interview, and when you are recruited for an internship, you have to know how to stand out, capitalize on experience, and all that requires having soft skills “, observes Ivy Rockson, Director of Human Resources.
Encourage vocations
« Beyond the know-how that we acquire at school, we must have know-how. What sets you apart from all the young graduates who have the same course as you, when faced with a job or internship offer? “, she says.
Open days or career fairs organized by the company are all programs that inspire vocations, better equip pupils and students, and broaden their horizons of possibilities.
This is also and above all the case of the Training Center of the Ivorian subsidiary, which since 2017, has received young graduates in technical fields every year, in order to train them in real working conditions and introduce them to entrepreneurship. at the same time.
They learn in particular team spirit, planning, task monitoring, professional awareness, but above all soft skills to successfully integrate into a professional environment. In the world of work
With its desire to contribute to a generation of young people ready for employment, Nestlé Côte d’Ivoire has been able to reach more than 20,000 students, notably through the installation of its Training Center with eight classes of students.
The subsidiary initiated workshops to strengthen employability (Nestalk) followed by more than 300 young people, as well as the Graduate Trainee Program, a talent incubator within the company’s own departments, and the Youth Campus, a major meeting of exchanges and practical workshops, open to the general public.
AP/Sf/APA
