Nestle To Create 3,000 Apprenticeships And Traineeship Opportunities In Africa

In line with its young empowerment initiative in Africa, Nestle has announced plans to introduce its apprenticeships and training programmes in the continent.

According to the company, "more than 3,000 apprenticeships and traineeship opportunities will be created in Africa by the end of 2018. We will provide readiness-for-work training for more than 300,000 young people over the same period.”

Africa has a population of around 700 million people of which about 70% are youths under 30 years of age. However unemployment among youths is a serious problem and so is underemployment.

Nestle said the scheme will now be rolled out across Africa, with particular focus in countries where the company has operations, such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Angola, Ghana and the Cote D’Ivoire.

“We want apprenticeships and traineeships to be the first step on a career ladder for young people, either with [us] or with other companies,” the company said.

“The nature of our business, with its broad geographical and category spread gives us the chance to employ a wide range of young people from school leavers to PhD graduates. This essential part of the programme is to help young people be better prepared for the workplace.”