McQualified: The British government is giving McDonald’s the authority to
award credits for its internal training programs to help employees earn their
high school diplomas. The move, part of Great Britain’s stated desire to bolster
skills training of young people, marks “the first time commercial companies have
been allowed to award nationally recognized academic credits for their own
workplace training plans,” according to the Associated Press. Depending on the
courses they complete, McDonald’s employees could earn diplomas that are
equivalent to passing either standard exams (for 16-year-olds) or advanced-level
exams taken at 18 or older.
McDonald’s will begin its training with a “nationally recognized course in
shift management” that has been approved by the British government. Student
employees will cover an array of topics related to running a restaurant,
including “stock taking, math and literacy, hygiene, health and safety
regulations, people management, marketing, human resources and recruitment,”
according to The Times newspaper in London.
McDonald’s says the training is not primarily designed to boost staff
retention. David Fairhurst, McDonald’s head of human resources in Europe, told
The Times: “Some 60 percent of our employees are aged under 21 and we know that
many will leave because they see working here as a steppingstone. What matters
to us is engagement and loyalty, so that service is good, and the best way to
get that is through training.”
According to The Times, some of McDonald’s “qualifications are already
accredited” in the U.S., while in Australia every McDonald’s employee is
“guaranteed an interview with Qantas,” a major airline.
The Associated Press says McDonald’s offers courses in restaurant management
in the U.S. “that can be transferred for credit at traditional colleges and
universities through its training facility, Hamburger University,” although
McDonald’s says it has no plans to launch a high school-level program similar to
Britain’s. And despite the hoopla, some labor and education officials question
whether McDonald’s training courses will be taught by people whose
qualifications match up to those of professional educators.
McDonald’s is one of three companies that have permission to grant academic
credits for internal apprenticeship programs. Flybe, a British regional airline,
and Network Rail, which operates Britain’s railroads, are the others.
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