In a country that does too little to retain its young people and guarantee them not only a job, but also qualifying and rewarding professional growth prospects, the initiative of a medium-sized company in the province of Varese, Deles, to set up a Youth Advisory Board in which six young employees aged between 25 and 32 will participate.
The decision is part of the growth and change process envisaged in the 2023-2026 development plan of the group, specialized in the packaging and supply chain solutions sector. «For some years now we have been embarking on a corporate transformation process in which the future and attention to young people are central – explains the CEO of the group, Stefano Scaroni -. Already in 2017 we had started the experience of an internal Academy, in collaboration with the Milan Polytechnic, to create a meeting point between young graduates and the world of work».
A very important issue for a company like Deles, specialized in B2B and therefore not very visible outside the world of professionals and unattractive for young job seekers. «In recent years we have managed to create an important base of young people who are growing up in the company: the under 30s are around 10-15% of the total 600 employees. Now we feel the need to listen to their needs, just as they ask to be heard», adds Scaroni.
Hence the idea of creating this Advisory Board which also involves young people in the company’s strategic decisions. Last year the applications were opened and now we are proceeding with the selection of six members chosen equally from the various European offices of Deles (Italy, Poland and Hungary), who will be part of the team for 12 months.
«We will entrust these young people with six strategic projects to work on throughout the year, with the commitment to present their progress to the board of directors every quarter – explains CEO Scaroni -. Furthermore, every month one of them, in turn, will participate in the meetings of our Strategic Leadership Committee, or our board of directors, and will give the Youth Advisory Board’s point of view on the company’s choices and strategies».