Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria introduced young people to the professions behind the journey of mineral water

The company took part in the “Professions Bazaar” with the interactive workshop “Mission H₂O with Bankia Mineral Water – Source of Life. Every Day”, introducing participants to different professional roles across the business.

Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria took part in this year’s edition of the “Professions Bazaar”, organised by the Bulgarian Network of the UN Global Compact. On 16 and 17 October at Planet Schwarz in Sofia, the initiative brought together nearly 300 high school students and their teachers, giving them the opportunity to explore different professions through practical tasks and interactions with business representatives.

As part of the #YouthEmpowered educational programme, experts from Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria engaged young participants in the interactive workshop “Mission H₂O with Bankia Mineral Water - Source of Life. Every Day”, challenging them to follow the journey of mineral water from the natural spring to the bottle and ultimately to the consumer. Working in teams, the students stepped into different professional roles, including logistics, marketing, production and sustainable resource management.

The workshop was led by Adelina Petrova, Plant Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria’s production centre in Bankia, who showed participants how different functions within a company work together and how the responsible use of natural resources forms part of everyday business decisions.

“Responsible resource management is an important part of how we operate at Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria. Through the workshop, participants were able to explore some of the practical considerations involved in the use of water, energy and materials, while working together to solve tasks. It was great to see their engagement, creativity and teamwork. Practical experiences like this can help young people develop useful skills and better understand the range of careers available to them,” said Adelina Petrova.

Participation in the “Professions Bazaar” is part of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria’s long-term commitment to supporting young people as they prepare for their future careers. Since the launch of the #YouthEmpowered programme in 2017, more than 36,000 young people in Bulgaria have gained practical knowledge and skills to support their development. The programme is aimed at young people aged 16 to 25, including students in the final years of high school and university students preparing to take their first steps into the labour market.

Across Coca-Cola HBC Group’s markets in Europe and Africa,#YouthEmpowered has already reached nearly 1.3 million young people, helping them develop skills, build confidence and discover new opportunities for professional development. Through its sustainability strategy, Mission Refresh, the company is building on this commitment with the ambition to support more than 3 million young people in total on their path towards successful professional development by 2035.

The “Professions Bazaar” focuses attention on the skills that will become increasingly important for young people in the changing world of work, including critical thinking, adaptability, the ability to continuously learn and effective communication. The initiative also contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goal 4, “Quality Education”, and Goal 8, “Decent Work and Economic Growth”.