The pledge
Sixteen hospitality employers have committed to 100,000 paid jobs for people aged 18 to 24 who are not in education, work or training.
UKHospitality leads the partnership with the Government. The trade body published the pledge on 15 October 2026, and the Department for Work and Pensions published its own release the same day.
The names on both documents
Whitbread, McDonald's, Nando's, Marriott, Compass, Burger King, Parkdean Resorts, Haven, Fuller's, Merlin Entertainments, Stonegate Group, Mitchells and Butler, Wagamama, Sodexo, WSH Limited and De Vere.
Two deadlines
UKHospitality sets the target at 100,000 paid jobs by the end of the Parliament. The department sets it at 100,000 paid jobs over three years.
The offer runs past the job itself. Employers commit to work experience and training alongside paid employment.
Three parts
UKHospitality lists a partnership targeting 100,000 first starts in hospitality, an initial group of businesses delivering the target by the end of the Parliament, and expanded access to the Hospitality Skills Passport.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, called hospitality the number one employer of young people in the economy. He said the passport expansion will form a significant pillar of the partnership.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the partnership will unlock 100,000 jobs and connect young people with employers ready to take them on.
The baseline
The department's release records that nearly six in ten young people who are NEET have never had a job. It records that pupils absent from school 10 per cent of the time or more are 3.9 times more likely to become NEET.
Retail went first
A matching 100,000-job pledge from retailers went out last month. Marc Bolland, the former M&S chief executive, convened the employers.
The terms still open
No company holds a published share of the 100,000. Neither document sets a reporting timetable.