Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company’s Paris office Homayoun Hatami has unveiled that Generation – an independent global skills development initiative that was founded by McKinsey in 2014 – is set to launch in France imminently. The new presence will add to Generation’s global operations that are currently concentrated in seven countries.
Unemployment is among the major economic barriers facing the world today, and perhaps the root cause of the anti-immigrant sentiment that appears to have spread to most of the developed world. At its core, however, unemployment can be attributed to a gap between the nature of skills prevalent in the workforce and those required by prospective employers, exacerbated by the rapidly evolving nature of skills required in the current global environment.
Global management consultancy McKinsey & Company has been working to rectify this problem, through its skill-development initiative by the name of Generation. The initiative was launched in 2014 as a matchmaker of sorts, training people in skills that employers are on the lookout for, thereby benefiting both parties.
Generation essentially trains young prospective employees between the ages of 18 and 29, usually in the format of what the firm calls short and intensive “boot camp” training, which incorporates not only the technical skillset required of professionals, but also helps candidates with the appropriate behavior and mindset for their respective workplaces.
Alongside McKinsey, the initiative is supported financially by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Walmart Foundation. So far, Generation is active in seven countries, including the US itself, alongside among others Spain, Kenya, Mexico and India, with plans to expand to many more.
The Generation website indicates that the initiative will soon launch in Australia, Singapore, Pakistan and the UK, and it has already rolled out limited programmes in the Asian financial centre of Hong Kong. Now, a Senior Partner at McKinsey’s Paris office, Homayoun Hatami, has revealed that a launch in France is also imminent.
“Our studies show that there is a mismatch between supply and demand for skills in the labor market. Given the scourge of youth unemployment in France, I bet that many of our customers will join this project,” said Hatami of the move into France.
Since its establishment in 2014, Generation has trained nearly 21,000 graduates, more than 80% of whom have found employment within 90 days of completing the programme, earning a cumulative amount of $70 million. Nearly 70% of these graduates remain employed one year after they were placed. Most employers of those who were employed in temporary arrangements have indicated that they would employ the same person again if needed.
Hatami, who took the reigns at McKinsey in France six months ago, describes Generation as “the largest non-profit organisation of a private company in the training and professional integration of young people.” The move will go a long way in building his legitimacy at the helm of the country operation. Earlier this year, the Managing Partner of McKinsey Spain was named the recipient of a social impact award for Generation Spain’s contributions.
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