This Thursday and Friday the VI Meeting of Young People of the Pacific Alliance was held, which on this occasion had Colombia as host country. For the second consecutive year, the event was held virtually with the expected participation of more than 35,000 young people from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru who, together with panelists and representatives of the governments of these countries, gathered to address related issues with the training and employability of the new generations as a fundamental basis to boost the economy in their territories.

^{Laurent Freixe, Nestlé CEO for the Americas. Photo: Courtesy Nestlé}

During the opening, Laurent Freixe, Nestlé CEO for the Americas, stated that “The Youth Encounter is a space designed to work for the present and the future of our countries. Supporting young people in their employability and training process to enter the labor market, especially in this context of economic reactivation, is key to building more equitable and prosperous societies. Along this path, the participation of actors from the public, private and civil society sectors is fundamental to articulate efforts that generate a real collective benefit in this post-pandemic stage ”.

In this sense, Nestlé, committed to closing gaps for the generation of educational opportunities and employment opportunities for young people as one of the strategic axes to promote the reactivation of the economies of the region, managed to benefit between 2015 and 2021 to 970,000 young people with job opportunities and training in the region through initiatives. In Mexico punctually:

• Hiring of 7,218 young people, thus helping them to obtain their first job.

• More than 2,148 interns, interns and apprentices gaining work experience.

• Young people represent almost 40% of the hires.

• Training of 300 young people with the Dual Training program, providing them with skills and tools that will help them build better career paths.

Likewise, within the framework of the event, the agenda for the first day was focused on making young people the main protagonists of the day . The initial block of the agenda had the participation and inspiration of Thomas Kimber (Chile), Juan Camilo Jaramillo (Colombia), Jorge Lomelí, Adán Ramírez and Bernardo Bastien (Mexico) and Vasco Masías (Peru), who shared their success stories and the gratifying path they have traveled in the professional sphere, thanks to tools and initiatives that they learned about during their participation in the Meeting.

Similarly, during the first of the two days of the Meeting, the participants also exchanged ideas to transform the world through innovation, discussed the importance of thinking in terms of sustainability in projects and ventures, and highlighted the benefits of the fourth. industrial revolution to create opportunities for new generations .

^{Photo: Courtesy Nestlé}

One of the topics that most caught the attention of the attendees was the discussion on sustainable businesses and the strength that initiatives of this type have taken, in line with global trends that indicate a growing interest from both consumers and companies in promote sustainable initiatives.

On the second day of the event, prominent figures participated such as the President of Colombia, Iván Duque; Martha Lucía Ramírez, Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, as well as Luisa María Alcalde, Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare of Mexico .

Finally, the perspective of the Mexican private company was represented by Walmart de México y Centroamérica, Liks.co, Mercatitlán, Hand Solo, Greenhug, Angel Ventures and of course Nestlé . They were joined by the interventions of different panelists who highlighted the importance of academic training and dual education to promote youth employment in a sustained manner.