MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Coca Cola CEO warns youth unemployment is a great risk for social peace

Kent was addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos

Unemployment among teens and young adults represents a huge global problem, says Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca-Cola. In the United States, teenage unemployment totaled 20.2 percent in December and if the situation isn't addressed, the results could be devastating, the social peace and fabric of the world is in danger.

“Seventy-five million [young] people [globally] are unemployed, do not have the opportunity to work at the moment,” Kent said in a talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“That's bigger than France. It's a terrible thing when people are coming into the workforce in their late teens and early 20s and don’t have opportunities to create value”.

In May 2012, the global youth unemployment rate totaled 12.6%, compared to 4.5% for the adult unemployment rate, according to the International Labor Organization.

“If we're not successful in creating better opportunities, I think there's a real danger that the social peace and fabric of the world is in danger,” he said. “It's the obligation of government, it's the obligation of civil society to come together to find solutions.”

Kent spoke of the need for a “golden triangle” between business, government and civil society to address the issue. Further advancing on his comments, interviewed by Bloomberg TV claimed there is a “huge mismatch” between what businesses need from employees and what universities are teaching students.

The University of Hull graduate explained Coca-Cola was helping tackle unemployment around with world with the firm's 5by20 scheme.

The program is designed to enable the economic empowerment of five million women entrepreneurs by 2020, according to Kent.

The scheme's current focus is on four key markets, including Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines and India. Coca-Cola also said it is expanding 5by20 into additional markets where it is incubating projects or piloting programs, including China, Mexico, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Haiti and Egypt.

Kent also discussed how employers across the globe should look to use technology to create jobs. ”We also have to learn, especially where youth unemployment is very high (in places like Europe), to leverage technology better,“ he said.

”Technology, on the one hand, is a big challenge because it actually eliminates jobs. But, at the same time, if we leverage properly, it can create jobs.”

The chief executive's comments come as youth unemployment and total jobless rates across Europe remain very high.

The UK, with a 7.1% unemployment rate, is faring well compared to its European cousins such as Spain (26.03%) and Greece (27.8%), but whose youth jobless rate (18 to 28 years) is over 50%, and has been for several years.