Engaging the entrepreneurs of tomorrow

MS – When we launched YBT 5 years ago in Spain, we were overwhelmed by the positive feedback and number of applicants for this competition. Since that time, we have grown it into an annual event that engages almost 20.000 pupils from the entire Southern Europe region – and even beyond…  

YBT – this stands for “Young Business Talent”, a competition that aims at promoting talent and entrepreneurship among secondary school students. We want to encourage them to pursue with their higher education, thus helping them to maximize their individual career opportunities and shape a better future – this is one of our many ways to care for families across our region.  

Every year, YBT starts with the regional competitions, followed by a national final in each of the 4 countries of the Beiersdorf Southern Europe region: Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. The winning team of each country then competes in the international final which is awarded with an unforgettable journey... 

The central aspect of the YBT is a 3rd generation business simulator, provided by NIVEA and created by Praxis MMT. It offers the entrepreneurs of tomorrow the possibility to take part in an innovative training programme by means of a virtual business game. The young students compete in rounds of taking business decisions in nearly all areas of expertise and corporate functions: from marketing to sales, finance and human resources.
With a total of 860 schools that have submitted their application, and more than 18,500 students competing for being recognized as the best Young Business Talents 2017, this year’s international final will take place in June. New edition, new friends: We are delighted that in addition to the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Greek winning teams, this year, we will also see the winning students from Mexico!

In the previous edition, the 4 Southern Europe winning teams that came to facing each other to be the international winners of YBT 2016 were the “Prosperity Team” from Barcelona, the "Cheerleaders" team from Spain, the team from the Açores Island of Santa Maria, the Italian "Quelle Giuste" team, and the brilliant Greek girls team "Spithes".  

The competition saw the Greek team’s triumph, winning a fully sponsored trip to the NIVEA business world in Hamburg, including the chance to experience the Research & Development Center and visit the historic archive as well as Hair & Style Studio at Beiersdorf’s Headquarters.  

By the time they arrived there, the Greek girls immediately started to cheer and taking pictures of the surroundings. Our colleagues gave the students the opportunity to feel the sense of working in a multinational company. They learnt about the history of Beiersdorf, discussed CSR topics, and had the opportunity to create their own Labello. Their feedback was overwhelming and we are looking forward to taking this year’s YBT winners again on this unique journey…

Melania joined Beiersdorf Italy in 2014 in the HR Department working on Recruiting, Training & Development. Last year, she joined the Linkedin global editorial team, contributing people stories from Beiersdorf’s Southern Europe Management Unit. She is also responsible for Employees’ Development & Innovation Projects, to spread the entrepreneurial mindset and a culture of innovation within the Italian affiliate.