McDonald’s has vowed to do its bit to get more young people across working across Britain.
Official figures this month showed the unemployment rate in the three months to February among 18 to 24-year-olds rose to 14.3 per cent, up from 13.7 per cent previously.
More than over 34 per cent of 16 to 17-year-olds who have left education are not in any form of work.
The number of under-35s on payrolls has fallen by more than 258,000 from just over 11million when the party took power in July 2024 to less than 10.8million last month.
Under Keir Starmer’s watch, the number of young people aged between 16 and 24 not in work or full-time education rose to approximately 957,000 by the end of December 2025, up 11,000 from the end of July.
Punishing taxes initiated by Rachel Reeves, higher wages and the growth of artificial intelligence have collided and created a lacklustre jobs market.
In a bid to counter the tidal wave of joblessness among young people, McDonald’s has vowed to offer 2,500 paid work experience placements across its business.
Paid work experience placements: McDonald’s has vowed to do its bit to get more young people across working across Britain
The fast-food chain said it had a ‘responsibility’ to act in a bid to address the issue of unemployment among young people.
The paid work experience placement scheme is open to anyone aged between 16 and 19 and available nationally. Placements will start in July.
Snobs might dismiss a job at a fast-food chain as a downgrade, but successful applicants will get the chance to boost their communication, customer service and food preparation skills.
These, along with a willingness to graft, are transferrable skills which can be utilised elsewhere in the hospitality sector or broader corporate world.
A partner at a top London law firm told This is Money that one of the best young candidates he had ever interviewed at the firm had just spent a summer working at a McDonald’s restaurant.
McDonald’s said its five-day work placement will give young interns ‘hands-on experience’ in its restaurants, carrying out inventory checks and operating its ‘drive-thru’ kiosks.
The chain said: ‘Participants will develop a range of employability skills, including communication, teamwork, leadership, planning, and problem-solving.
‘They’ll also build their knowledge on interview techniques, writing CV’s and applications, and time management skills to fully prepare them for entering the world of work.’
At a time when many firms are trimming back junior hires, McDonald’s work experience placement offers young people a foot in the door.
Participants will be offered an interview upon completion of the placement, subject to the terms of the programme.
Applications can register their interest for McDonald’s work experience placement now to be notified once applications open at later date.
Labour has launched a formal review to scrutinise the problem of large numbers of young people being out of work or full-time education.
In a recent report by the Centre for Young Lives (CYL) and McDonald’s, Haroon Chowdry, chief executive of CYL, said: ‘Being out of education, employment or training at a young age is not a temporary setback from which all will easily recover.
‘The evidence is clear that early experiences of unemployment or disengagement can cast a long shadow across a lifetime, shaping earnings, health, and wellbeing for years to come.’
Alan Milburn, the former government minister responsible for chairing the government’s Young People and Work Review, said: ‘The scale of youth unemployment and the NEET crisis facing the UK is a national outrage with long-term consequences.
‘Young people want to work, but too often the system shuts them out.
‘High-quality work experience delivered at scale can be transformative, and McDonald’s commitment shows the kind of leadership employers need to demonstrate if we’re serious about giving every young person a fair start.’
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