Standard Chartered’s employability programme supports close to 3,000 young people hit by Covid-19
on 14 Feb 202214 February 2022, Paris, France – Over 2,900 young people across France have been supported through Enactus’ Youth Programme, “Skills Accelerator for Positive Impact”, a community programme designed to support disadvantaged students impacted by the economic and social fall-out of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Delivered by NGO Enactus, and funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation, the programme was launched in 2021 to deliver experiential learning to disadvantaged young people to develop idea generation, project management, presentation skills, communication and finance management skills.
Throughout 2021, disadvantaged youth, including higher education students between 18 and 25 years old, have developed their entrepreneurial and employability skills; whilst secondary education students aged 15 and 18 were offered experiential training programmes to develop employability and digital skills that are useful for both school and future employment.
Standard Chartered employees in Paris directly support the programme through volunteering, including Caroline Eber-Ittel, CEO France and Head of Global Banking France & Southern Europe, at Standard Chartered, who volunteered to support the Enactus Festival Exhibition at Cité Fertile in June.
Commenting on her experience, Caroline said; “Whilst volunteering, I was struck by the many talented participants on the programme and inspired to cultivate their drive and creativity. With the economic and social impact of Covid-19 disproportionately impacting young people from low income communities, it is critical that they are given the skills and tools needed to access economic opportunities.
“I am delighted that the partnership will continue in 2022 so that we can support more young people across France by equipping them with essential skills to thrive in the future.”
Mélanie Sueur Sy, CEO, at Enactus France, said; “This past year has been another challenging one for the youth of France as we continue to battle with the unpredictability of a global pandemic. Being able to support the skillset of our younger generations and future business leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, is vital to their success. Our programme seeks to ensure no one gets left behind in a skills gap, and we’re proud to build on the great work we’ve started again this year in partnership with Standard Chartered.”
The next two events will be taking place between February and April – Experts workshops for the benefit of Higher education students & Entrepreneurship workshops for Secondary Education students, where Standard Chartered employees will be supporting students with their entrepreneurial projects.
Standard Chartered has been supporting its communities to thrive since the coronavirus pandemic started. In 2020, Standard Chartered in France donated USD100,000 to Fondation de France to help healthcare workers, to finance research projects, and support local social professionals and charities working with the most vulnerable. A further USD50,000 was donated to Institut Pasteur, to support research and public health initiatives related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, over 700 masks were donated to the Marie Curie Hospital.
The Youth Programme is part of Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, the Bank’s global initiative to tackle economic inequality. It is funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation, the lead delivery partner for Futuremakers.
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Note to Editors
For further information please contact:
Lauren Verner
Head of Communications, Europe
Standard Chartered
Tel: +44 7500 826 143
Email: lauren.verner@sc.com
Salomé Brunet
Communications Manager, France
Enactus France
Tel: +33 (0)7 66 85 74 58
Email: sbrunet@enactus.fr
Standard Chartered Foundation
The Standard Chartered Foundation (SCF) is a charitable organisation that tackles inequality by promoting greater economic inclusion for disadvantaged young people, particularly girls, young women and people with visual impairments. Its programmes focus on education, employability, entrepreneurship and include projects that support economic recovery for communities impacted by COVID-19.
Established in 2019, SCF is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 1184946) and is the lead delivery partner for Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, a global initiative to tackle inequality. www.sc.com/scfoundation
Enactus France
Enactus France is a not-for-profit organization operating in the fields of education & social innovation, listed as part of the Top50 Impact entrepreneurship in the country. Enactus aims to build people’s skills and capacity to make a positive impact on society and the environment. Enactus France has supported over 16 000 young people (aged 16-25) to take action for others, and in turn, become entrepreneurs of their own lives and changemakers in their communities.
Established in 2002 in France, Enactus is a registered “Association loi 1901” and a member of the Enactus Worldwide network, active in 36 countries.
Standard Chartered
We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets, and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good.
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
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