Just like corporate employees, young people need to be given a proper environment so they can realize their potential, Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn said Monday at a ceremony for scholarship recipients.

"Our mission here is to provide an environment that will unleash your ability," Ghosn told university students taking part in the program, which provides grants to help them experience work at nonprofit organizations.

The Nissan president said that is exactly what he did when he took the helm of the then loss-making automaker in 1998.