Veolia And National Youth Employment Coalition Launch New National Partnership

• A workforce development partnership between Veolia and NYEC will ultimately help students find in-demand jobs in the critical water industry
• Veolia is developing the water sector’s next generation by working with students in vocational programs nationwide.
• Today’s announcement follows the recent launch of Veolia Workforce Academy North America to give young workers a free online pathway to learn skills to excel in the water workforce

As part of its ongoing commitment to strengthening the talent pipeline for the water and wastewater industry, Veolia is partnering with the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) to develop a multi-city strategy to expand recruitment pipelines, strengthen training partnerships and increase youth awareness of high-demand careers in water and wastewater. America needs more people to operate its water and wastewater systems for a growing population amid a changing environment, and the Veolia-NYEC partnership is designed to meet this urgent national need.

Over the coming year, both organizations will work with local agencies, community-based partners and national workforce leaders to build scalable talent pathways rooted in real labor market demand. These efforts will serve as a model for industry-wide workforce development, demonstrating how employers can meet critical hiring needs while opening doors for young adults seeking high-demand, impactful careers.

“Veolia has long recognized the need to engage talented professionals as they start to explore their own career paths,” said Karine Rougé, Executive Vice President of Strategic Transformations for Veolia in North America. “With so many companies looking for motivated workers, partnering with an organization like the National Youth Employment Coalition helps a company like Veolia optimize our initiatives for workforce development while amplifying our voice in the competition for attention among young adults exploring future careers.”

The Veolia-NYEC partnership helps remove barriers that have historically limited access to stable, high-quality careers for young people who are ready to work but lack clear pathways. It provides dedicated outreach to underserved youth, who are at the prime age to earn high school and college degrees but are disconnected from both school and work. This program reaches a vital and often overlooked talent pool with the potential to strengthen both communities and critical industries like the water sector, while also helping young people achieve their full potential to find stable, strong careers providing environmental security for their communities.

By engaging this talent pool, Veolia and NYEC can address the growing workforce needs of the water industry with motivated, diverse talent with fresh perspectives and the tech savvy of digital natives – ensuring a more resilient, skilled and community-rooted workforce for the future.

This partnership comes at a critical moment. With a “silver tsunami” accelerating retirements across the water sector, many employers nationwide face significant staffing shortages that threaten the long-term reliability of essential services. NYEC’s national network of more than 200 affiliated workforce organizations, combined with its deep understanding of youth talent development and employer needs, makes it a key strategic partner to help Veolia build the next generation of water and wastewater professionals.

To help companies respond to workforce challenges on a national level, NYEC launched the Youth Champion Employer Council — an employer-led initiative designed to align real-time workforce needs with partners who effectively serve a younger demographic. As industry partners deeply committed to hiring young talent across critical and emerging sectors, Veolia is co-leading this initiative with Alpha Drones USA — an innovative aviation technology and training company. Together, they are helping to shape a coordinated private-sector movement focused on preparing the next generation of skilled workers.

“NYEC is an organization that has a ton of credibility in a number of communities we already serve,” said Scott Beeney, Veolia Workforce Development and Community Engagement Leader. “They’re connecting with young people of all socioeconomic backgrounds who show the leadership potential for a fulfilling, life-changing career. The water industry requires cooperation with a variety of stakeholders to ensure both public health and environmental security. It’s as demanding as it is rewarding, and anyone who has worked with NYEC has already shown a willingness to step up to that challenge.”

Veolia and NYEC have teamed up for Youth Days in Washington, D.C., where 130 youth leaders, practitioners and partners from across the nation convened in late 2025 on Capitol Hill and visited with representatives from 85 legislative offices from 27 different states to advocate for strengthening pathways to education and employment for young people.

Building on this momentum, Veolia recently hosted the inaugural Youth Champion Employer Council Roundtable at its Washington, D.C. office. The meeting brought together employers from healthcare, manufacturing, aviation, retail and other high-demand industries to explore shared workforce challenges, identify opportunities to expand early-career pipelines and chart steps for partnering with NYEC’s national network of youth-serving organizations. The Roundtable marked the first in a series of employer-led conversations that will inform the Council’s priorities and guide future partnerships and programs across the country.

“The response from our employer partners has been incredible,” said Dr. Mary Ann (Mimi) Haley, Executive Director of NYEC. “What we’re seeing is a real appetite from companies that want to move beyond one-off hiring efforts and become part of a coordinated strategy that connects youth to meaningful, long-term careers. This Council gives them the space and the structure to do that together.”

Veolia and NYEC are now developing a multi-city strategy to expand recruitment pipelines, strengthen training partnerships and increase youth awareness of high-demand careers in water and wastewater. Over the coming year, both organizations will work with local agencies, community-based partners and national workforce leaders to build scalable talent pathways rooted in real labor market demand.