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Fast food chicken chain KFC has said it is creating 5,400 new restaurant jobs in the UK and Ireland.

The company also says it is hoping to fill as many of the vacancies as possible with young people aged 16 to 24.

As part of the UK government’s ‘Kickstart’ scheme, KFC will hire thousands of youngsters after seeing an increase in demand for its fast food offerings in the pandemic period.

The chain has already created more than 4,000 full and part time jobs since COVID-19 struck the UK in March. It is now on track to have created around 10,000 new vacancies across the UK and Ireland during 2020.

The 5,400 new jobs will be spread across KFC’s franchise empire of almost 1,000 restaurants throughout the UK and Ireland.

KFC confirmed that the new vacancies will be permanent contracts which will run beyond the December 2021 end date of the ‘Kickstart’ programme. They also said that they do not offer zero hours contracts and that even part time staff will be able to work a minimum of 25 hours per week.

Announcing the recruitment drive for young people, KFC UK & Ireland’s General Manager, Paula MacKenzie, said: “There's no denying it's been a tough year for the hospitality sector, and we're already seeing the substantial impact of that across our high streets and city centres. The vast majority of our restaurants are run by franchisees, which are often smaller family owned businesses that have faced the unique set of challenges of this year, including the complete closure of restaurants in March.”

“We're proud to have been able to work together to reopen responsibly and in turn ensure the stability of our restaurants and provide new job openings into the industry at this time,” added Ms MacKenzie.

The Minister for Small Business, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Paul Scully, welcomed the announcement for KFC, saying: “There is no denying that this is a tough time for British workers, so we welcome this major investment in jobs, training and skills, especially for younger workers and those who may not have formal qualifications.”

“It is great that iconic brands like KFC are continuing to grow and invest in the UK during this challenging time. We continue to support businesses of all shapes and sizes through this crisis with measures like the Kickstart scheme,” added Mr Scully.

It’s been a good news week on the restaurant jobs front, with the South Asian street food franchise Chaiiwala announcing 3,600 vacancies on the way and German Doner Kebab saying it will create almost 500 new positions in the last few days.

If waiting tables, pulling pints or working in a kitchen appeals to you then read our guide to restaurant jobs in the UK now!