NEW YORK – A new effort is launching in an effort to create the nation’s largest employer-led coalition committed to creating pathways to meaningful employment for America’s young people. The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative is a national coalition of leading U.S. companies committed to hiring at least 100,000 young Americans in the next three years. The coalition is made up of companies from a range of sectors including QSRs like Starbucks, Taco Bell, Dominos and Chipotle and corporate giants such as Mars.

The national initiative is committed to collectively hiring and engaging at least 100,000 Opportunity Youth — defined as 16- to 24-year-olds who face systemic barriers to jobs and education — by 2018 through apprenticeships, internships, training programs and both part-time and full-time jobs. The coalition will work with community-based organizations and civic leaders to help deliver the local skills training and hiring opportunities young people need, ensuring that the cross-sector effort is sustained in the long term. 

The official launch of the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative will take place next week in Chicago, where the participating companies, in collaboration with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and community-based organizations, expect to collectively engage at least 3,000 pre-registered youth and anticipate making hundreds of on-the-spot job offers, delivering immediate impact for their businesses, the Chicago community and many participating candidates.

This ticketed event will begin with an Opportunity Fair, which will feature informative, inspirational and interactive experiences for youth including workshops, on-the-spot mentoring and feedback, college counseling, skills development, and entertaining events and activities.