Almost 3,000 Olympics Games Makers involved in London 2012 have had their skills recognised with a national award.

The volunteers have completed the Level 2 City & Guilds award, a qualification designed by Olympic sponsor McDonald’s for Games Makers needing help to get into work, but the take-up has surpassed the firm’s expectations of 1,000 people sitting the exam.

To gain the award, each Games Maker had to bolster their pre-Games training and volunteering experience with online learning before sitting a test at an accredited City & Guilds exam centre.

Lord Seb Coe, chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: “It’s fantastic to see thousands of Games Makers going a step further and formalising their skills and experience with the national qualification that McDonald's created and funded especially for them.”