Marriott International on track to reach goal of providing career opportunities for 40,000 young people in Europe by 2020
Marriott On Track To Deliver 40,000 Career Opportunities For Young People In Europe Over 5 Years
LONDON, UK, 2019-Sep-24 — /Travel PR News/ — Marriott International in Europe announced today (SEPTEMBER 23, 2019) that it is on track to reach its goal of providing career development opportunities for 40,000 young people in Europe by 2020. This initiative supports the company’s sustainability and social impact platform, Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction, and its commitment to Empower Through Opportunity. Today’s announcement coincides with the start of Marriott’s annual You Eat, We Give fundraising campaign which aims to raise €400,000 for youth charities across Europe in 2019 in order to support more young people into independent lives and careers.
Since 2015, Marriott International in Europe has offered 30,000 training opportunities, in the form of work experience placements and apprenticeships, giving young people an invaluable first step into employment and exposure to an array of professional expertise and stimulating experiences. A further 15,000 young people have been hired directly into jobs with Marriott International.
The 2020 goal sits at the heart of Marriott’s ‘World of Opportunity’ initiative, an ambitious scheme to find and nurture the wealth of talent that currently lies untapped in 15-24-year olds throughout Europe. Working in partnership with The Prince’s Trust in the UK and SOS Children’s Villages in the rest of Europe, Marriott’s World of Opportunity training courses develop both employment skills and “life skills” that help young adults from challenging backgrounds take their first step into work and independent living.
“I am extremely proud of the work and dedication our associates across the continent provide to support this initiative,” said Francisca Martinez, Chief Human Resources Officer, Marriott International, Europe. “It demonstrates Marriott’s commitment to empowering young people and supporting them to develop invaluable life skills that are critical in today’s dynamic working environment.”
Marriott’s World of Opportunity initiative aims to help young people prepare to join the labour market regardless of background or level of experience. Of the more than 30,000 training opportunities already created, 64% were taken by young people who were preparing for their first job and included recent university graduates joining Marriott’s Voyage programme, while 36% were taken by young people who had been unemployed or were not attending formal education programmes such as school, university or apprenticeships. In both cases the training was designed to help these young people prepare for work with core job and life skills.
A major initiative that contributes to Marriott’s fundraising efforts is the company’s annual You Eat, We Give campaign that promises £1, €1 or the local equivalent for every lunch and dinner served at participating properties during September and October. In 2018, the campaign achieved a total of €400,000 bringing the total of funds raised since it launched in 2012 to more than €2.4 million. This year, Marriott is expanding the opportunities for guests and customers to get involved by offering limited-edition charity bracelets at participating locations. The bracelets are on sale for £5 at UK hotels or €5 (or local equivalent) at Continental European hotels with proceeds from each sale supporting The Prince’s Trust, SOS Children’s Villages and Relate, a South African charity that produces the handmade bracelets and supports local job creation though their enterprise. Marriott Bonvoy members are also able to donate their points to both The Prince’s Trust or SOS Children’s Villages.
Marriott International aims to equip young people with the skills and confidence to make the move into work, whatever that might be. Since 2015, it has provided young people more than 1.3 million hours of work experience in more than 200 hotels across Europe.
Furthermore, Marriott’s commitment to youth employment extends to supporting charitable partners with cash and in-kind donations to support a variety of programmes and initiatives. Since its World of Opportunity programme launched in 2012, nearly €2.7 million cash and €1.3 million in-kind (goods and services as well as meeting spaces and rooms) has been donated to its charitable partners along with more than 75,000 volunteer hours.
Marriott International, Inc.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,000 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 132 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company now offers one travel program, Marriott Bonvoy™, replacing Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG). For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.
About The Prince’s Trust
Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps young people to develop the confidence and skills they need to realise their ambitions, so that they can live, learn and earn. Founded by The Prince of Wales in 1976, the charity supports 11 to 30-year-olds who are unemployed, struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Trust are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, or have been in trouble with the law. The programmes offered by the charity give vulnerable young people the practical and financial support needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. The Trust has helped over 900,000 young people to date and supports over 100 more each day. Further information about The Prince’s Trust is available at princes-trust.org.uk or on 0800 842 842, and you can find us on social media at @PrincesTrust on Twitter and Instagram, or via Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
About SOS Children’s Villages
SOS Children’s Villages is the world’s largest non-governmental organisation focused on supporting children and young people without parental care, or at risk of losing it. Founded in 1949 as a non-denominational organisation, today we have a presence in 136 countries and territories. Our work is anchored in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children. We operate more than 2,600 locally led programmes, directly reaching more than a million children, young people and families. We partner with donors, communities, governments and other organisations to reach the children and young people who need support, and we advocate for governments to uphold their obligations with regard to children’s rights. More information on SOS Children’s Villages can be found at www.sos-childrensvillages.org.
About The Relate Trust:
Established in South Africa in 2008, the Relate Trust is a proudly 100% not-for-profit social enterprise which predominantly sells handmade bracelets around the world to raise money for charities globally, while creating jobs for young adults and the elderly in low-income communities. Since it’s very first bracelet with Nandos back in 2008 and its partner support of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, Relate has raised just on R60 million for charities in the health, education, conservation, social upliftment, children’s and women’s empowerment sectors. Relate’s vision is that through connecting humanity they hope to help build a better & more sustainable world where they bring focus to key issues like poverty, unemployment and inequality. Their short-term goal is to raise R100m by 2023. For more information on the Relate Trust, please visit http://www.relate.org.za/
Source: Marriott International, Inc.
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