Nando's launches FareShare employability programme

Nando’s UK & IRE has been announced as the founding partner of FareShare’s UK employability programme, which will help to equip people with the skills and knowledge they need to gain and maintain work.

The partnership aims to provide employment opportunities to people enrolled in the programme, as well as people supported by the charities and community groups that FareShare supplies food to. The programme connects job seekers with employment opportunities across Nando’s restaurants throughout the UK & IRE.

Having just been named Employer of the Year at this year’s Casual Dining Awards, Nando’s started working with FareShare in 2022 to support the business’s 'No Chuckin’ Our Chicken’ initiative. This cause has run for over 10 years and has seen Nando’s support more than 450 local charities across the UK. The company has donated the equivalent of over three million meals to date. Nando’s provide chicken to local charities and community groups all over the UK via FareShare Go, a free service from FareShare that links organisations with their local restaurants so they can collect surplus food at the end of the day.

Sam McCarthy, head of sustainability at Nando's, comments: "Our successful partnership with FareShare through our No Chuckin’ Our Chicken initiative has gone from strength to strength, proving incredibly successful in supporting the local communities in which we work. Furthering this partnership into recruitment was the perfect evolution of our employability aims and our work with FareShare. Not only do we have a real business need in finding and recruiting new talent from different backgrounds, this programme provides opportunities for all involved to support young people into employment, raising their confidence and skills whilst they’re with us."

FareShare is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity and, through the employability partnership, Nando’s is aiming to recruit people across the UK as part of its ongoing Fuel Your Future programme, aimed at giving sustainable employment to people who are needing to access food donation services.

Sam Hayden, head of operations and employability at FareShare Thames Valley and South Midlands, says: "As part of our employability programmes, we help young people to transform their lives by learning vital skills for the workplace, and everyday life. Unfortunately, many companies still aren’t confident enough to work with young people who have barriers to employment which makes it difficult to place them into employment after training. This is why we’re very excited to work with Nando’s – it’s a fantastic opportunity to give our young people a taste of the hospitality sector, in an inclusive environment, where they can continue to learn and thrive."

McCarthy adds: "It is really special to see our No Chuckin’ Our Chicken evolve from an idea in one restaurant from one Nandoca [employee] to a national programme 10 years later, where we are building relationships with our local charity partners and offering employment opportunities to the beneficiaries that need it most."

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