Pizza Hut has joined the more than a dozen major US-based companies committed to the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative, a project which aims to engage at least 100,000 Opportunity Youth in apprenticeships, internships, training programs, and both full-time and part-time employment by 2018. Opportunity Youth are 16-24 year olds who face systematic barriers to jobs and education, and Pizza Hut will meet some of these participants at the Opportunity Fair & Forum in Chicago on Thursday, August 13. Hut Life will be live blogging from the event all day, so follow the action here!

At the Opportunity Fair & Forum, Pizza Hut and other participating companies and nonprofit organizations expect to collectively train more than 2,000 youth and make at least 200 on-the-spot job offers. Specifically, Pizza Hut is hoping to find great people to join the brand as team members, shift leaders, and delivery drivers. “It’s a part of our culture and our brand to offer opportunities for people to grow no matter what their background. With this partnership, we’re excited to meet Opportunity Youth who we feel confident have the potential to go far with our company,” said Katie Mellor, Senior Manager of Human Resources.

While we greet job seekers at the booth at the jobs fair, nonprofit organizations simultaneously will be offering resources to job seekers, including on the spot mentorship, mock interview training, and skills needed for college prep, internships, and job readiness.  This initial event will serve as a foundation for hiring and training efforts across the nation with the collective goal of engaging 100,000 Opportunity Youth by 2018. To read more about the program, read the press release.

For Pizza Hut, this day is particularly exciting, as it gives us a chance to meet fans of the brand and recruit fresh energy for our restaurants.  We employ more than 150,000 people a year in the U.S. alone, and a big part of our culture focuses on unlocking potential in each individual, as demonstrated by the number of leaders in our company who began as team members and shift managers and grown with the brand. We’re really looking forward to supporting the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative, so check back with us on Thursday as we cover the event live!

[Photo credit: Big Stock/rebelml]