- Winner is one of 34 other young CEO’s appointed across the world – from Switzerland to Taiwan
- Adecco Group UK & Ireland tackles youth unemployment head-on with Way to Work™ programme
- One candidate will progress to become ‘CEO for One Month’ of Adecco Group globally
Adecco Group, the world’s leading provider of HR solutions, has selected 34 talented young people from all over the world to take on the role of ‘CEO for One Month’ in their country. The UK & Ireland winner – Claire Houston – will spend a month under the mentorship of Group CEO Peter Searle and fellow members of the executive team.
Adecco Group’s ‘CEO for One Month’ initiative is part of its global Way to Work™ programme, which seeks to tackle the persistent problem of youth unemployment. Youth unemployment remains a key issue in the UK, with young people now three times more likely to be unemployed than the rest of the population. According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment amongst 16 – 24 year olds is 16.1% - compared to an overall rate of 5.5%. Analysis by the House of Commons library shows that the gap hasn’t been this big since 1992 – over twenty years.
New Adecco UK research supports these statistics, with nearly a quarter (22.8%) of young people saying it has taken them over 3 months to get a job.
Way to Work™ is working to reduce the UK’s youth unemployment problem by offering young people an opportunity to gain work experience and increase their employability as they enter the world of work. As ‘CEO for One Month’, the winners will receive a paid and highly valuable internship which will boost their CV and career prospects.
‘CEO for One Month’ was launched in Norway in 2011. In 2014, it became a global initiative offering one ‘Global CEO for One Month’ position alongside Adecco Group’s global CEO.
One deserved candidate will be selected from this year’s local winners to become ‘Global CEO for One Month’, running a Fortune 500 company working alongside Alain Dehaze, who will take on his new role as Adecco Group’s global CEO on 1 September 2015.
Announcing the winner for Adecco Group UK & Ireland, CEO Peter Searle said:
“I am delighted that Claire will be joining us as the winner of our CEO for One Month competition. Through our Way to Work™ initiative, we are able to give another young person a unique insight into the workings of our organisation, as well as the skills required to succeed in business today. We see tremendous talent coming through the younger generations, but too many are not being equipped with the necessary workplace skills. This initiative is one opportunity to bridge that gap and empower young people to take their first step into the world of work”.
Claire Houston, CEO for One Month for Adecco Group UK & Ireland said:
“I feel so lucky to have been awarded the opportunity to become CEO for One Month at Adecco Group UK & Ireland and I am looking forward to learning as much as I possibly can from everyone that I meet during my month’s placement. Practical work experience is really important for young people who are just starting out, and I think that more employers should run initiatives like this. If young people are given the chance to gain a better understanding of the skills and qualities that companies are looking for, this will ultimately benefit both the young jobseekers and the employers as they will be helping to develop the future talent they need.”
The 34 successful candidates have been selected by Adecco Group from more than 18,000 applicants. The young CEOs comprise young men and women from as far afield as Italy, the USA, Mauritius, and Taiwan. They were chosen after a challenging selection process that started at the end of February. National finalists underwent a complete assessment to test their customer focus, entrepreneurship, team spirit, passion and sense of responsibility – Adecco Group’s core values.
In addition to the CEO for One Month opportunity and as part of the wider Way to Work™ programme, one other fortunate young person in the UK will also benefit from a month’s paid work experience with the International Tennis Federation in August, a valued client of Adecco Group UK & Ireland.
A spokesperson from the International Tennis Federation said:
“The International Tennis Federation is thrilled to be able to support Adecco Group’s Way to Work Programme. We feel we can offer young people an interesting and varied work experience and hope they gain a useful insight in to working for an international organisation such as ours”.
