Today, McDonald’s Corporation announced a new initiative called
Youth Opportunity, with a global goal to reduce barriers to
employment for two-million young people by 2025 through
pre-employment job readiness training, employment opportunities and
workplace development programs. As part of this goal, McDonald’s is
also joining the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, led by
the International Labour Organization (ILO), to help accelerate
global efforts to tackle the youth employment challenge.
To kick off this initiative, the company will distribute $1
million in grants to local community organizations in Chicago to
deliver job readiness training for young people who have less
access to opportunities. McDonald’s will distribute a further $1
million in grant money to Skills for Chicagoland’s Future to
develop a new apprenticeship program with City Colleges of Chicago.
In Europe, McDonald’s, including participating franchisees, has
also pledged to offer 43,000 apprenticeships by 2025 as one of the
workplace development programs people can access.
“With 64 million young people unemployed worldwide, the youth
employment challenge is vast and affects all countries. This new
initiative by McDonald’s has the potential to support many young
women and men, especially in disadvantaged areas, with relevant
skills for employability and targeted strategies to boost
their transition into quality jobs — jobs that protect their
rights and support their development. We welcome McDonald’s
decision to join the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth,
whose goal is to bring positive change and hope to young people’s
lives through positive action. Such efforts are vital in helping us
meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” said Sukti Dasgupta,
Chief, Employment and Labour Market Policies Branch, ILO.
“Around the world, too many young people are finding that,
through no fault of their own, there are barriers to entry into the
workplace. We believe this needs to change,” said David Fairhurst,
McDonald’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer. “That
is why McDonald’s and participating franchisees are expanding our
existing world-class workplace training and education programs to
go beyond those that we hire. Together, we will leverage our scale
for good and help these young people to develop the core workplace
skills they need to get a job and the opportunities they need to
kick-start their career and achieve their true potential – whether
at McDonald’s or elsewhere.”
“I want to commend McDonald’s and their independent franchisees
for demonstrating what it means to be a good corporate citizen and
for investing in Chicago’s next generation,” said Mayor Rahm
Emanuel. “Chicago is proud to partner with McDonald’s to ramp up
our workforce development efforts and help create more
opportunities for young men and women across our great
city.”
Pre-employment Training In partnership with
local community organizations and the International Youth
Foundation (IYF), which has over two decades experience in youth
development around the world, McDonald’s will offer a new
pre-employment work-readiness and soft skills training program,
designed to help young people develop the competencies employers
are looking for in entry-level employees. McDonald’s is piloting
this initiative in Chicago, with the goal of reducing
barriers to employment for 4,000 young people in the city,
before rolling it out to select cities in the U.S. from 2019. In
Latin America, Arcos Dorados – a McDonald’s franchisee – aims to
reach 180,000 young people through existing pre-employment training
programs, while other participating global markets will roll out
the initiative through locally-relevant programs and partners from
2019.
“McDonald’s investment in youth development stands to make a
real impact in the United States and around the world in providing
young people with both skills and opportunities for employment,”
said Susan Reichle, President, IYF.
McDonald’s is bringing together four trusted community
organizations – After School Matters, Skills for Chicagoland’s
Future, Phalanx Family Services and Central States SER – who will
pair relevant skills training programs with a specialized version
of IYF’s Passport to Success curriculum, developed in partnership
with McDonald’s. Participants will learn valuable soft skills such
as self-awareness and management, communication skills, problem
solving and conflict management. In addition to being considered
for job opportunities at company-owned and franchisee restaurants,
graduates from the training will have the chance to pursue
opportunities with potential employers across a variety of
industries like healthcare, supply chain logistics and IT.
Employment Opportunities and Workplace Development
Programs Through the Youth Opportunity initiative, the
company and participating franchisees want to attract a diverse
pool of talent to their restaurants. They will continue to
provide job opportunities that young people need to
kick-start their career and to develop critical soft
skills, such as teamwork, hospitality and decision making.
Employees can also go on to access development programs, including
Hamburger University, which has prepared more than
360,000 students for leadership positions in the restaurant
industry, and Archways to Opportunity, which has
awarded over $26 million in high school and college tuition
assistance to over 18,800 U.S. restaurant employees.
In Europe, McDonald’s, including participating
franchisees, has pledged to offer 43,000 apprenticeships by 2025 as
one of the career development opportunities that young people can
access. The apprenticeships combine workplace training and
study, enabling people to gain practical work experience and new
skills that will last a lifetime - all while earning money at the
same time. These apprenticeships will be offered in the UK,
Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland, with the aim of
expanding apprenticeships to other markets in the future. Through
this pledge, McDonald’s is also joining the European
Alliance for Apprenticeships to help promote and improve
access to vocational training for young people.
In the U.S., the company will grant $1 million to Skills
for Chicagoland’s Future in support of a new apprenticeship program
with City Colleges of Chicago. The program builds on City
Colleges of Chicago’s mission to deliver a quality, affordable
education, work-based learning opportunities and a path to upward
mobility for its students. Kicking off this fall, the pilot will
enable 40 students to earn an associate degree in business while
working toward a restaurant management role. The grant from
McDonald’s will provide scholarships to pay for time spent in class
by any student who is an employee of a McDonald’s franchisee. As
part of this initiative, McDonald’s has also joined the Chicago
Apprenticeship Network to continue best practice sharing with other
companies that are committed to expanding professional advancement
through apprenticeships.
“There continues to be a disconnect between employers struggling
to find qualified candidates and young adults looking for jobs.
With its Youth Opportunity Initiative, McDonald’s is sending a
clear signal that they are investing in young people and their
career pathways. We are proud to partner with McDonald’s to
identify and place young people into jobs as well as provide them
job readiness services and connect them to mentoring resources to
provide a holistic program to support them. This approach
puts the focus on an individual’s potential – not their
circumstance – and empowers Chicago’s youth to turn that potential
into achievement,” said Marie Trzupek Lynch, founding President and
CEO of Skills for Chicagoland’s Future.
“Working with McDonald’s and companies across Chicago, we are
helping to create a more inclusive workforce and a more inclusive
Chicago economy that allows people from all neighborhoods to
contribute their abundant talents to our city,” said Juan Salgado,
Chancellor, City Colleges of Chicago. “With this work-based
learning opportunity, McDonald’s offers our students an invaluable
chance to build work experience, professional connections, and
align their academic and career paths on the way to earning their
degree.”
Young adults interested in applying to this new Chicago
apprenticeship program should visit www.scfjobs.com/mcdonalds.
About Scale for GoodYouth Opportunity is the
fifth McDonald’s commitment, launched between 2017 and 2018,
dedicated to using the company’s Scale for Good. It follows bold
pledges to drive beef sustainability, improve packaging and reduce
waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and offer more balanced
choices and recommended food groups for Happy Meals. About
McDonald’s McDonald’s is the world’s leading global
foodservice retailer with over 37,000 locations in 120 markets
around the world. Over 90 percent of McDonald’s restaurants
worldwide are owned and operated by independent local businessmen
and women.
About our
partnersInternational Youth
FoundationInternational Youth Foundation (IYF) is a
globally recognized NGO that has led and sustained coordinated
action to harness the talent and potential of the world’s youth for
more than 25 years. IYF has a long standing record of successfully
working with corporations and organizations to prepare young people
to succeed as citizens and employees.
Decent Jobs for Youth Decent Jobs for Youth is
the global initiative, led by the International Labour
Organization, to tackle the issue of youth employment and to ensure
that young people have access to decent work, in line with the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development. Launched in 2016, with
endorsement from the executive heads of the United Nations, Decent
Jobs for Youth brings together the resources and expertise of
diverse partners to maximize the positive impact of investments in
youth employment.
European Alliance for ApprenticeshipsThe
European Alliance for Apprenticeships is a platform which brings
together governments with other key stakeholders, like businesses,
social partners, vocational education and training (VET) providers,
youth representatives and think tanks, under the common goal of
strengthening the quality, supply and image of apprenticeships in
Europe.
Chicago Apprenticeship NetworkCreated by Aon
and Accenture in 2017, the network convenes companies from across
Chicago who are committed to expanding professional advancement
through apprenticeship programs. The group fosters exchange of
ideas, key learnings and best practices in the city to create
programs that deliver sustainable outcomes for students and
employers alike.
Skills for Chicagoland’s FutureSkills for
Chicagoland’s Future (Skills) is a non-profit organization focused
on providing Chicagoland’s employers with a talent pipeline. Skills
works closely with more than 50 employer partners across
Chicagoland to understand and meet their hiring needs while
creating employment opportunities and economic mobility for
underemployed and unemployed job seekers.
City Colleges of ChicagoCity Colleges of
Chicago prepares more than 80,000 students annually with a quality,
affordable education leading to transfer, careers, and a path to
upward mobility. City Colleges encompasses seven colleges: Richard
J. Daley College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College,
Olive-Harvey College, Harry S Truman College, Wilbur Wright College
and Harold Washington College, five satellite sites: Dawson
Technical Institute, South Chicago Learning Center, Arturo
Velasquez Institute, Wright-Humboldt Park, and the Westside
Learning Center, along with the Washburne Culinary &
Hospitality Institute. For more information about City Colleges of
Chicago, or for registration information, call (773) COLLEGE or
visit www.ccc.edu.
After School MattersAfter School Matters
provides Chicago high school teens with high quality, after-school
and summer opportunities to explore and develop their talents while
gaining critical skills for work, college and beyond. Since 1991,
more than 200,000 teens have participated in our hands-on,
project-based after-school and summer programs in the arts,
communications and leadership, sports and STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math). Programs take place at locations
throughout the city including Chicago public high schools, Chicago
Park District and Chicago Public Library locations, community
organizations, downtown at the Gallery 37 Center for the Arts and
in Belmont Cragin at our new Michael and Karyn Lutz Center for
After School Matters. For more information, visit
www.afterschoolmatters.org.
Phalanx Family Services Phalanx Family Services
(PFS) is a non-profit based in Chicago who has been working with
adults and youth living in the South Side of Chicago since 2002.
PFS helps young people in economically and socially disadvantaged
communities secure good, entry-level jobs.
Central States SERCentral States SER (CSSER) is
a non-profit organization based in the Little Village neighborhood
of Chicago whose mission is to promote the economic
self-sufficiency and upward mobility of low income residents
through education and employment. For over 30 years CSSER has been
providing personalized services to approximately 12,000
marginalized and disadvantaged individuals to help them achieve
their academic and career goals.
MEDIA CONTACTS:Terri
HickeyMcDonald’sTerri.Hickey@us.mcd.com
Khim
AdayMcDonald’sKhim.Aday@us.mcd.com
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