Bridgestone backs drive to boost youth employment

Bridgestone has committed to support the European Pact for Youth initiative, a mutual engagement of business leaders and the EU to develop and intensify business-education partnerships aimed at boosting youth employability and inclusion. The commitment was signed on 17 November by Franco Annunziato, chief executive officer and president of Bridgestone EMEA, at the Enterprise 2020 Summit in Brussels. Bridgestone also served as a summit sponsor.

Initiated by CSR Europe, a leading European business network for Corporate Social Responsibility, and supported by the European Commission, the Pact for Youth aims to tap the human capital potential of Europe’s youth, currently suffering from high unemployment and exclusion from society. The goal of the two-year programme is to support the creation of 10,000 business-education partnerships with the shared objective to establish at least 100,000 good-quality new apprenticeships, traineeships and entry-level jobs across Europe.

Only two months ag, Bridgestone Europe launched a major engineer recruitment campaign for its European R&D Centre with a target to find around 40 engineers with a range of different experience levels, from recent graduates to experienced individuals.

“By signing this pact, Bridgestone is showing its continued commitment to create economic opportunities through job creation and inclusion,” comments Isabelle de Cambry, general manager Corporate Social Responsibility at Bridgestone EMEA. “We will support the programme by enhancing our internship and apprenticeship programmes, as well as reinforcing our relationships with key education establishments and organisations.”

Bridgestone’s current youth initiatives include a programme in Spain promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. This programme, run in partnership with the University of Nebrija and local government road traffic authorities, challenges students to develop real solutions for sustainable mobility and road safety. Now in its third year, the programme gives students education and experience in order to give them the maximum chance of finding employment after graduation.

Bridgestone says it now looks forward to developing the Pact for Youth initiative, so helping to deepen the company’s societal impact and improve the employability of young people.