McDonald's is the Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Games Maker programme.

PEOPLE. That's what makes London 2012, that's what makes McDonald's.

McDonald's is supporting the attraction, selection and training of up to 70,000 volunteers who will lend their time, energy and expertise to make London 2012 a success.
Being a Games Maker will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we want to ensure each volunteer is valued and recognised for their efforts and achievements.

Although nothing will quite compare to the bustle and excitement of an action-packed Olympic and Paralympic Games, staff at McDonald's know a fair bit about working in a fast-paced, busy environment - providing quick and consistent customer service to over two million people every day.

We have firsthand experience of finding, retaining and developing people with the right attitudes and qualities, who enjoy serving customers in a busy environment and working as part of a motivated team. We are proud that this expertise will help find the right team of Games Makers to deliver an outstanding Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This is the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that an Organising Committee has looked to commercial partners to support the volunteers. We will be supporting and celebrating the Games Makers at every stage of their journey, with the aim of leaving an enduring training and volunteering legacy for years to come.

The journey to find up to 70,000 Games Makers started in July 2010 when the application process opened to the general public.

On the 7 January 2011 McDonald's opened up its state of the art training facilities in London to assist London 2012 in training the 2,500 volunteer interviewers needed to select the Games Makers.

On the 1 February 2011 London 2012's Games Maker selection centre at the ExCeL Centre in London opened, and will remain open 6 days a week for 14 months.

This selection process will be a chance for the applicants to find out more about being a Games Maker and will include a face-to-face 30-minute interview.

Selection centres will also be located in Glasgow, Gateshead, Salford, Coventry, Cardiff, Belfast, Plymouth and Weymouth and Portland.

Each year we invest millions in training our 85,000 employees, from offering adult certificates in Maths and English right through to Foundation Degrees.

We deliver the majority of our training at our state of the art training facility, McDonald's University, offering around 18,000 courses to our employees each year.

We were one of the first employers in the UK to be granted awarding body status back in 2008 and, since then, thousands of our employees have gained qualifications. In fact, in 2010 we awarded over 12,000 qualifications.

We are one of the largest providers of apprenticeships in the UK and have over 8,000 apprentices currently studying with over 3,000 already qualified.

We have recently launched our Foundation Degree programme, and already 50 restaurant managers have started out on their two year programme with Manchester Metropolitan University.