Nestlé Canada partners with CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals

Two-Year Partnership Will Support Black Youth with Career Training and Skills Development

Nestlé Canada is teaming up with CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals, a community-based organization dedicated to addressing economic and social barriers affecting Black youth.

In turn, Nestlé will financially support the Kitchen Masters Program and introduce Nestlé Professional’s Young Culinary Talents Program (YOCUTA) for Black youth in Toronto’s priority investment neighbourhoods.

"At Nestlé Canada, we are committed to breaking down barriers and confronting intolerance and inequity and our efforts to build an inclusive culture at work and in our communities is continuous," Jeff Hamilton, CEO of Nestlé Canada, said in a release. "We understand the importance of providing economic opportunities for our youth and are determined to help them fulfill their ambitions, especially during these turbulent times. We are proud to be partnering with CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals – a leading community-based organization, to support Black youth with new skills and training opportunities to build their employability skills and support their successful transition into the hospitality and food service industry."

The CEE Centre for Young Black Professional’s Kitchen Masters program is a 16-week program that equips Black youth between the ages of 18 to 30 years old, who are currently out of school and out of work, with relevant skills and training needed to develop a career out of their love for food. This career training and development program offers youth the chance to compete in cooking challenges, have one-on-one coaching sessions and gain vital experience through placements and paid internships.

In addition to the financial contribution to the Kitchen Masters Program, Nestlé Professional, Nestlé’s Food Service division, will offer an additional training program focusing on the culinary industry, called YOCUTA, Young Culinary Talents. YOCUTA aims to develop young chefs, by providing students with all the necessary tools to pursue a successful career in the culinary industry.

“We are deeply honoured and excited about the support we are receiving from Nestlé Canada," said Agapi Gessesse, executive director of CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals. "It is partnerships like these where we can continue to see a tangible difference in the lives of young black people in Toronto. Our Kitchen Masters program has been a proven model that has produced many job opportunities for young black youth in Toronto and we are excited at the possibility of working with Nestlé to continue to offer these opportunities during these difficult times."

The YOCUTA program falls under Nestlé’s broader Nestlé Needs Youth Initiative, whose ambition is to help ten million young people worldwide access economic opportunities by 2030.