Aims to Reduce Youth Unemployment in Cities
through First Jobs, Internships, Business Training and Leadership
Development
Addresses Findings of a New Global Study
Showing Youth Optimism Is High But Opportunities and Skills are
Lacking
Citi today announced a global expansion of the Pathways to
Progress initiative led by a Citi Foundation investment of $100
million to connect 500,000 young people, ages 16-24, to training
and jobs over the next three years. This is the largest
philanthropic commitment in the Citi Foundation’s history. Pathways
launched in 2014 with a $50 million effort that helped more than
100,000 young people across 10 U.S. cities become career-ready
through first jobs, internships, and leadership and
entrepreneurship training.
The expansion also includes a commitment to have 10,000 Citi
employees volunteer to serve as mentors, coaches and role models to
young people and support their career progress.
Pathways to Progress aims to help reduce youth unemployment in
key cities around the world and improve the quality of the youth
workforce. Globally, the youth unemployment rate is three times
higher than the adult unemployment rate1, which reflects a gap in
the skills and networks many young people currently possess and
what is required by many employers or needed to successfully launch
an income-generating business.
“The playing field isn’t level for all young people and Citi
wants to help change that,” said Citi CEO Michael Corbat.
“Mentors, internships and exposure to a variety of career
opportunities help young people get a foot in the door and provide
the foundation they need to thrive in their careers – those are the
things Pathways to Progress helps provide to those who might not
have access to them otherwise. Young people consistently say
they want to pursue careers that allow them to contribute to
important societal issues, and I firmly believe that matching that
ambition with the skills provided through Pathways will benefit all
of us when they enter the workforce.”
Global Expansion of Pathways to Progress
Through the expansion of Pathways to Progress, Citi and the Citi
Foundation continue to work with municipal and community leaders to
help young people secure jobs, begin to engage in the formal
economy, and contribute positively to their cities. $50 million
will be invested in the U.S. in cities including Chicago, Dallas,
Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Newark, San
Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, and Washington DC and $50 million will
be invested internationally in cities including Beijing,
Casablanca, Johannesburg, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Mumbai, São
Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Warsaw, with a target
to reach 500,000 young people globally. Select programming
includes:
U.S.
- Partnering with Cities for Financial
Empowerment Fund and mayors across eight U.S. cities to create
summer job and financial empowerment opportunities for more than
2,400 young people this year;
- Working with the Network for Teaching
Entrepreneurship to expand start-up training that activates the
entrepreneurial mindset - including through online course offerings
- for 15,000 young people across 10 U.S. cities over the next two
years;
- Expanding Management Leadership
for Tomorrow’s Ascend program supporting
first-generation, low-income college students to complete college
and graduate prepared to pursue professional careers.
Global
- Working with TechnoServe to establish a
College Career Center in Mumbai that provides job skills training,
career counselling and placement support to more than 1,200 young
people transitioning from college to work;
- Expanding Youth Business
International’s efforts to provide more than 5,000 young aspiring
entrepreneurs across European cities such as Paris, Milan and
Madrid with entrepreneurship training, access to capital, mentoring
and other business development services;
- Supporting Glasswing International to
offer vocational training workshops and mentoring programs that
guide young people in Central American cities, including Panama
City and San Salvador, through school-to-work transition and
employment preparation.
“The constant urban demographic pressure at the level of the
Grand Casablanca presents many challenges for all city dwellers,
especially youth,” said Casablanca Mayor Abdelaziz El Omari.
“To tackle this the city of Casablanca, has opted for smart
urbanization based on an innovative strategy that links economic,
political and social development and allows for the integration of
technologies. To achieve this ambition, Casablanca boasts an
original, participatory modus operandi in which youth, citizens,
companies and local actors are invited to contribute to nurture the
future of the city. We strongly believe that the Pathways to
Progress program launched by the Citi Foundation aligns perfectly
with our vision.”
"The City of Madrid is delighted to collaborate with Citi
Foundation and IESE Business School, within Citi’s Pathways to
Progress program, to support entrepreneurship in the city of
Madrid,” said Roberto Sanchez, General Manager of
Innovation and City Promotion, Madrid. “Thanks to the projects
which encompass four years of collaboration, we have helped many
entrepreneurship projects to internationalize, innovate, grow and
thus create economic wealth for our community."
“With the rising youth unemployment rates globally, it’s
imperative to help the youth build up their confidence and
cultivate their leadership skills and competitiveness,” said Dr.
Tien-Mu Huang, Vice Chairman, Financial Supervisory Commission,
Republic of China (Taiwan). “The Citi Foundation's Pathways to
Progress initiative not only helps disadvantaged youth get access
to education and employment opportunities, but also utilizes Citi’s
expertise and its people to mentor young people to discover their
talents and realize their full potential for greater social impact.
This has set a great example of social responsibility for
corporates.”
“This new commitment by the Citi Foundation will help
organizations like Junior Achievement test and scale programming
that helps more young people globally build a platform for their
future success,” said Asheesh Advani, President and CEO, JA
Worldwide. “We engage over 2,000 Citi volunteers each year who
help deliver critical employability skills programming to millions
of youth around the globe. Ensuring that young people do not get
left behind is crucial to what we do and is what drives our
work.”
Building on Our Progress
In the U.S., Pathways to Progress supported programming in 10
U.S. cities: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York
City, Newark, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.
Through the Foundation’s initial $50 million initiative, our impact
includes:
- More than 6,000 young people had summer
jobs—gaining real work experience and access to integrated
financial education—through partnerships with mayors in eight
cities;
- 9,000 low-income youth participated in
entrepreneurship training camps and business plan competitions and
132 businesses were started by youth entrepreneurs;
- More than 10,000 youth across 10 cities
enhanced their leadership and employability skills by participating
in ServiceWorks, which engages young people through
volunteerism;
- Citi employees dedicated more than
34,000 volunteer hours through mentorship, coaching and support
services to young people.
"Young people in Miami deserve the champions that match their
optimism, diverse aspirations, and entrepreneurial spirit,” said
Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado. “Our work with the Citi
Foundation has given us the ability to provide more opportunities,
including summer jobs that invest in the economic health of our
young people teaching them financial empowerment skills which
long-term improve, our city, and our country.”
“Through vital partnerships with the private sector, we are
helping create more lasting foundational, career building
opportunities for young people in St. Louis,” said St. Louis
Mayor Francis Slay. “Pathways to Progress was instrumental in
helping us expand our STL Youth Jobs summer employment program, and
with this new commitment this year, we look forward to helping
empower even more of our future leaders.”
Global Youth Survey 2017: Economic Prospects &
Expectations
In conjunction with the expanded Pathways to Progress
investment, the Citi Foundation is also releasing the results of a
survey of young people that will help inform the focus of its
programs and partnerships. The study, conducted by Ipsos, found
that despite political, economic, and social upheaval, young people
around the world are optimistic about their career prospects, but
face the reality of limited skills and opportunities.
Key survey findings include:
- Despite uncertainty and change across
the globe, 70% of young people are optimistic about their career
prospects. Optimism is even higher in cities across developing
markets and the fact remains that worldwide 71 million young
people are looking for work.2
- More often than not, there is a
mismatch in the jobs youth have and what they want to do.
Globally, 55% of employed young people are currently working in an
industry that they don’t aspire to work in.
- 78% of young people believe
internships/apprenticeships are critical for success; however
60% say there aren’t enough of these opportunities.
- Three out of four young people are
willing to work long hours and take risks to achieve their
career aspirations.
- Youth have the entrepreneurial
spirit but are not starting businesses. Nearly 70% of young
people surveyed aspire to be entrepreneurs, yet only 6% are actual
entrepreneurs at present.
The global youth survey polled more than 7,000 young people ages
18-24 in 45 cities across 32 countries on all the continents except
Antarctica between November 2016 and January 2017.
“Youth labor markets are evolving rapidly, so are the
aspirations and optimism of young women and men who are entering
the labor market every day and are confronted by unemployment
and/or low quality jobs”, said Azita Berar Awad, Director of the
Employment Policy Department at the International Labour
Organization. “Channeling the voices of youth from cities
across the world, the Citi Foundation’s Global Youth Survey 2017
offers important insights on youth’s perceptions, calling for
improved and coordinated action, because when young people have
decent work, everyone benefits and our future is more
prosperous.”
“The Citi Foundation’s 2017 Global Youth Survey offers a fresh
perspective on young people, a group that is often easily
overlooked in political and economic discourse,” said Michael
Rose AM, Chairman of The Committee for Sydney. “The results
convey both optimism and concern: young people in Sydney are
aspirational about their ability to succeed, but concerned about
their career opportunities. The Committee for Sydney is passionate
about promoting opportunities for young people, creating effective
future leaders and ensuring that the city is a place for all to
live and work. We look forward to taking these insights and working
across sectors with partners like the Citi Foundation to ensure we
match aspirations of today’s youth with opportunities for
success.”
“This new research will help us identify where we can best
continue to invest our efforts to bridge the gap between the
entrepreneurial aspirations of young people and the challenges they
face,” said Andrew Devenport, CEO of Youth Business
International. “Citi Foundation’s new commitment demonstrates
the “all in” mentality we need if we are going to truly tackle
youth unemployment and drive sustainable economic development in
Europe and around the world.”
For more information about Pathways to Progress and the study
visit CitiFoundation.com. Follow @Citi on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and LinkedIn, and use the hashtag #Pathways2Progress to
view more insights from the research and join the discussion with
those interested in youth empowerment.
Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million
customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and
jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments
and institutions with a broad range of financial products and
services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and
investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and
wealth management.
Additional information may be found
at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi |
YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi |
Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com |
Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi |
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi.
Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and
improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the
world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion,
catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to
building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation's “More
than Philanthropy” approach leverages the enormous expertise of
Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought
leadership and innovation. For more information, visit
www.citifoundation.com.
1
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_337070.pdf
2
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_513739.pdf
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CitiElizabeth Patella,
212-559-2477elizabeth.patella@citi.com
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