ADECCO APPOINTS PAOLA OSPINA AS THE FIRST ‘CEO FOR ONE MONTH’

Youth unemployment figures stand at 20% in the USA and over 23% in Europe, with peaks of 57% in Greece and 54% in Spain. A whole generation is struggling to enter the workforce due mainly to a lack of experience and a skills mismatch. The Adecco Way to Work™ was launched in 2013 to help young people overcome these barriers and take their first steps on the career ladder.

The Adecco Way to Work™ programme provides career guidance and one-month job experiences to improve the employability of young job-seekers. 88 young people in 50 countries took on a wide variety of roles in diverse areas of business thanks to the cooperation of Adecco clients all over the world. This was a unique opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talents to potential employers. For many this was their first job and an intense work experience to add to their CVs.

Forty-six of these young people had the ambition to put themselves forward as ‘CEO for one month’. Ten were selected to join a boot camp in Zurich between August 12th and 16th. For this once-in-a-lifetime position the finalists were tested, challenged and assessed with a focus on Adecco’s core values – team spirit, customer focus, passion, responsibility and entrepreneurship - and leadership principles of cool head, warm heart and working hands (click to watch the video). All ten finalists - Mohammed Assad (Netherlands), Silvia Bizubova (Slovakia), Adam Boardman (UK), Andrew Chu (Taiwan), Allegra Guardi (Italy), Benoît Hommel (France), Adharsh Kumar (USA), Elena Ollendiek (Germany), Paola Ospina (Colombia) and Aurora Petrel (Spain) - were exceptional talented candidates.

Paola Ospina was finally chosen to become the ‘CEO for one month’. Overjoyed at her appointment, Paola commented:

“The Boot Camp was an incredible experience. In just 3 days I learnt so much, also from the other amazing candidates. During my month as ‘CEO’, alongside Patrick De Maeseneire, I want to keep learning as much as I can, develop and put all my skills into practice. My background and passion is Advertising and Marketing, but now I’ve got the chance to get to know so many other aspects of business that will help me to improve in my career.”

Paola will spend the month of September working and travelling alongside Adecco Group CEO, Patrick De Maeseneire, attending operational meetings, carrying out business assignments, meeting many of her new Adecco colleagues and gaining a first-hand insight into the running of a Fortune 500 company.

Paola’s intense CEO experience starts on August 30th at the Win4Youth event in France. She will join 85 Adecco colleagues who will come together from 35 countries for our annual sports challenge. This year’s event sees them cycling up the Col du Tourmalet in support of 5 youth development foundations (https://www.facebook.com/win4youth).

After such a unique mentorship, Paola will be offered her next step on the career ladder with a job at Adecco to suit her skills, talents and aspirations.

With the Adecco Way To WorkTM, our goal is to turn a lost generation into a loved generation.