Peter Uzoho
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nestle Nigeria, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, has charged Nigerian youths to make good use of opportunities available to them to realise their God-given potentials. Alarcon said this at a programme organised by the organisation to mark the 2017 International Youth Day celebration at its Head office in Lagos. He stated that today’s youths are better equipped to make positive impact in the present “fast-paced world’, adding they should be creative enough to harness the vast talents in them to create value for society.
“You can do so many things today. As I see the great advantages of being a young person today, I also understand the hard challenges of managing so many prospects that no other generation prior to you ever had. Therefore, I think it is a great opportunity to sit together today to discuss how to seize these opportunities to really make a difference. You make a difference when you are young. Your potential is there, your dreams are there. So celebrate the youth, but more importantly, grab that unique chance that you have today,†he said.
The programme which was also organised to boost entrepreneurship and employability among youth in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) eight, held concurrently at the company’s head office in Lagos and its branch office at Agbara Factory Complex, and featured young entrepreneurs as speakers.
The MD stated that the company would continue to support young people by boosting youth entrepreneurship and inspiring talented youths, as well as providing training and job opportunities to ensure they gain the skills that will enable them make positive contributions towards building peace in the society.
Speaking at the panel session for youth entrepreneurship, Chief Executive Officer, of CDAtelier, Tosin Oshinowo, emphasised on the need for youths to be hard working and focused, saying that that helped her to achieve significant milestones at a young age. On his part, Digital Marketing Executive and Social Entrepreneur, Mr. Elijah Eniola, encouraged the participants not to limit themselves to a university interest.
Also speaking at the second arm of the programme at Agbara, Factory Manager, Mr. Walid Hbaika, urged them to take the lessons very seriously, noting that they were being sharpened to get prepared for a world of challenges and opportunities.
Lending his voice, Head, Human Resources, Nestle Nigeria, Mr. Adesola Akinyosoye, advised the youths to embrace the key elements of learning ability to enable them succeed in today’s highly competitive environment.
“The present-day world is not driven by mere activity, but by results. Every activity that one engages in must therefore be productive,†he said. The mentorship segment on career building and development was well received by the youths who expressed their satisfaction with the depth of information shared. The session included practical demonstrations on how to kick-start and develop a successful career, how to create adequate visibility for oneself using online networking sites and a curriculum vitae clinic to expose the interns to the expectations of employers,†Akinyosoye added.
