More than 3,000 youth across the Caribbean will benefit from jobs and opportunities as a result of Nestlé Caribbean’s partnership with several corporate interests.

The announcement was just one of the many highlights coming out of the culminating day for Nestlé Caribbean’s Youth Summit held over two days on October 5 and 6.

With a keen focus on strengthening and developing employability and the socio-economic reality of youth across the Caribbean, Nestlé Caribbean shared that just six months ago, the company started a drive to include like-minded companies to provide 1,000 job opportunities for youth between the ages of 16-19 years old by 2024, with an ambitious target of helping 10 million youth by 2030.

According to the popular consumer brand company, “achieving this milestone of 3,000 employment opportunities in this short time is significant and encouraging.”

For both days, the online space was charged with electrifying sessions, including an inspirational, refreshing and enlightening conversation on day one of the summit with Daymond John, the founder and CEO of multimillion-dollar company Fubu. John, who is also a best-selling author and investor on the popular American series Shark Tank, shared fundamental principles that were instrumental in his success as an entrepreneur that could be used to transform the lives of the participants.

Moderators Dr Terri-Karelle Reid and Keevan ”Keevo” Lewis kept the audience enthused and energised between sessions and this was maintained with heartfelt messages and motivational titbits from the Nestlé family including Josué De La Maza, market head – Nestlé Anglo-Dutch Caribbean, and Jamaica’s minister of state with responsibility for youth, Robert Nesta Morgan.

Throughout the summit, the thousands of participants who joined online from across the Caribbean region had numerous sessions to choose from; all deemed to be informative, engaging and valuable.

In one session titled, ‘Youth Now’, a balanced panel from across the Caribbean assessed how the novel coronavirus pandemic had been affecting them individually and collectively. That session provided a platform for individuals to be open and vulnerable about the varying issues affecting them, as well as provided a sound support to receive advice and hear how others were coping. Overall, the resounding consensus from the group was that the pandemic gave them a renewed perspective on life and had forced them to be more innovative, adapting quicker to the changing environment and how things are done, as well as learn more about technology.

While there continues to be various challenges, a positive that has come from the pandemic, the panellists noted, is the increased awareness of mental health concerns, the Youth Now panellists agreed that having gone through the initial stages of the pandemic, there were also opportunities to turn obstacles into opportunities.

As the day approached its closing, in a sincere message, Martha Uribe, head of human resources at Nestlé Zone Americas, expressed her thanks to the partners and participants who made the inaugural summit possible.

For her, she shared that the journey was a fulfilling one, noting that there was a “need to act, as youth have been faced with so many challenges, including depression, and so it was necessary to step up, do something and show that there are different ways that companies can add value and make a difference.”

In closing, she charged the participants, “Don’t remain silent. Start taking action. Believe in who you are, believe in your ideas and that you are capable of great things.”