5,000 out-of-school youth to undergo training at McDonald’s

AROUND 5,000 unemployed and out-of-school youth may soon undergo skills training at branches of McDonald’s around the country.

This as YouthWorks PH, a youth employment project of Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), signed a memorandum of understanding with Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC) for the training program. GADC holds the Philippine franchise for McDonald’s.

“We’re working towards up to 5,000 for the next three years of the project,” PBEd Executive Director and YouthWorks PH Chief of Party Lovelaine B. Basillote told BusinessWorld on Friday.

Under the MoU, young Filipinos aged between 18 to 24 years old will undergo training with partner institutions of the PBEd and at McDonald’s branches.

YouthWorks PH is a workforce development project valued at P1.7 billion, which provides training and employment opportunities for Filipino youth.

“A global American brand that started from humble beginnings in the1940s, made its way from California to the Philippines in the 1980s, and along the way revolutionized the fast food service industry is now working with us to provide education and employment opportunities to underprivileged Filipino youth,” US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said in a statement.

For his part, GADC CEO Kenneth S. Yang said: “We are proud to partner with YouthWorks PH in providing quality skills training opportunities for underprivileged Filipino youth. Through this partnership, McDonald’s Philippines commits to welcome and train at 5,000 youth in our restaurants nationwide.” — G.M.Cortez