Hilton Worldwide Announces White Paper on Youth Development

Hilton Worldwide is championing youth development having commissioned a white paper from the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and launched its own strategy for the area called Bright Blue Futures.

The white paper, ‘Creating Opportunities for Youth in Hospitality,’ looks at the economic and social struggles facing the world’s youth and the key issues that need to be addressed to solve those challenges.

Hilton Worldwide announced its publication at the World Economic Forum.

Leveraging insights gained through its partnership with the hotel group, IYF also presents the hospitality industry with a roadmap for action that focuses on creating career pathways while also meeting critical industry-wide hiring needs.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to prevent a lost generation of young people by helping them acquire the life skills and job training they need to be successful in the workplace and beyond,” said Christopher J Nassetta, president, and CEO, Hilton Worldwide.

“As a global citizen and a leader in one of the largest industries in the world, we have a business imperative and responsibility to develop solutions that preserve our collective futures.”

According to IYF, there are few industries whose resources, expertise and career pathways are as relevant to addressing the challenges facing young people today, and whose business and expansion relies as heavily on a trained workforce in every region of the world.

The travel and tourism sector, which alone employs 255 million people globally, is expected to generate 73 million new jobs by 2022.

William S Reese, president and CEO, IYF, said: “This paper and Hilton Worldwide’s leadership provide a critical foundation for how hospitality companies can respond to youth development strategically, while also supporting their business goals, and IYF looks forward to collaborating with other sectors such as retail and ICT-related industries to address youth issues in a holistic and sustainable manner.”

Hilton Worldwide’s initiative Bright Blue Futures is a global programme designed to help young people achieve stability and hope through education, life skills development, workforce training, and employment.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts Team Members across 550 communities in 80 countries support Bright Blue Futures, which responds to IYF’s call to action for the industry to leverage its expertise and hotel assets to address youth issues.

In addition to these initiatives, Hilton Worldwide is supporting IYF in developing a set of global reporting tools, including a Global Youth Wellbeing Index and Hospitality Industry Impact Framework, that directly address the paper’s call for accountability and instruments to assess the condition of youth over time.