From today, McDonald’s is offering its Restaurant Managers the opportunity to gain a Foundation Degree in Managing Business Operations.
The announcement comes as the company is awarded a Grade 2 (good) Ofsted rating for its Apprenticeship Programme, just 18 months after it was launched. The Foundation Degree is another major step forward in terms of the breadth and depth of qualifications now offered by McDonald’s – from NVQ’s in Maths and English, to the Level 2 Apprenticeship in Hospitality which has seen more than 6,500 sign up to the scheme, and a Level 3 Diploma in Shift Management.
A prospectus illustrating the full suite of qualifications is now available in careers advice centres across the UK alongside traditional academic prospectuses.
McDonald’s is today also unveiling its latest advertising campaign, Meet Our People, which features real employees, and aims to challenge misconceptions about the people who work at McDonald’s.
David Fairhurst, Chief People Officer, McDonald’s UK & Northern Europe commented:
“At McDonald’s, we provide a learning ladder that our people can ascend while they work. There’s no longer a need to choose between education and employment – people want to study at a stage in their life when it’s convenient for them. Our full range of education programmes increases productivity, efficiency, and staff confidence and staff turnover is now lower than it’s ever been. We’re proud of all of our people – whether they’re an 18-year-old Crew Member and qualified apprentice or a 42-year old Restaurant Manager with a Foundation Degree – which is why our new advertising reveals the real people behind the McDonald’s uniform.”
McDonald’s worked with Manchester Metropolitan University to accredit its Management Development Programme, creating a Foundation Degree founded on both business need and academic rigour. Following the completion of a successful pilot scheme, McDonald’s has now inducted 53 Restaurant Managers onto the Foundation Degree programme in 2010, who will graduate in 2011.
Commenting, Janette Moran, 30, a McDonald’s Restaurant Manager in Manchester, who was one of the first to trial the course and who graduated in July 2010, said:
“When the franchisee told me about the Foundation Degree programme I was the first to put myself forward. I got so much from it. What I was doing in the restaurant and what I was studying at home went hand in hand. When I was on the restaurant floor, I was putting the learning to use, especially the leadership skills. If people don’t understand the level I work at, it’s nice to be able to say, I’m a Business Manager - that’s Foundation Degree level.”
The new Meet Our People campaign comprises press and in-store advertising and an online viral film, which can be viewed at [insert YouTube link].
-ENDS-
For further information or case study enquiries:
• Nicola Marshall / Carolyn Hammond / Oliver Tilley, Blue Rubicon: 020 7260 2700 / mcdonalds@bluerubicon.com
• McDonald’s press office – 020 8700 7320
Notes to Editors
Case studies and photography available on request.
About the Foundation Degree
• A Foundation Degrees is a degree level qualification that combines academic study with workplace learning to equip people with the relevant knowledge, understanding and skills to improve performance and productivity.
• The McDonald’s Foundation Degree is in ‘Managing Business Operations’ and is worth 240 credits
• 10 Business Managers graduated in July 2010 and we have inducted 53 Business Managers on to the degree programme in 2010, to graduate in 2011
About Ofsted Grade descriptors
• Grade 1 – outstanding
• Grade 2 – good
• Grade 3 – satisfactory
• Grade 4 – inadequate
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s has a proven track record of investing in the development of employees and offering flexibility as part of its commitment to being a modern and progressive burger company. In fact:
• McDonald’s invests £30 million in training each year
• In January 2009, McDonald’s announced it would provide Apprenticeships to up to 10,000 employees per year from 2010, providing staff with the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised Level 2 Apprenticeship in Hospitality
• In January 2008, McDonald's was given awarding body status, meaning it is able to develop and award its own qualifications. The first qualification that McDonald’s offered is a Level 3 Diploma in Shift Management, which more than 1,500 Shift Managers have completed to date
• McDonald’s dedicated employee website, ourlounge.co.uk, provides employees with the opportunity to brush up on the basics by undertaking online learning programmes that lead to nationally-recognised qualifications in Maths and English
• In 2006 an independent study by Adrian Furnham, Professor for Psychology, University College London, showed that employment at McDonald’s has a positive transformative effect on young people compared to other jobs, boosting their confidence, communication skills and career prospects
• In 2004 research by the Work Foundation found that 60% of a typical franchised restaurant’s annual £1.5 million turnover – around £900,000 - stays local and generates a further £2.2 million of local spending
• 90 per cent of restaurant management and one in five franchisees started as crew
• The average tenure for a McDonald’s restaurant manager is over 15 years
• McDonald’s was recognised by The Great Place to Work Institute as one of the top 50 Best Workplaces in the UK in both 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and was one of only five organisations with more than 10,000 employees to be included
• McDonald’s was recognised by The Great Place to Work Institute as one of the Top 50 Best European Workplaces in 2010
• In 2005 McDonald’s became the first large employer to achieve the new Investor in People Profile status and in 2009 achieved GOLD status
• McDonald’s is one of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers for the eleventh consecutive year
• McDonald’s was listed in ‘Britain’s Top Employers 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 rankings
• McDonald’s has been listed as one of the Times ‘Top 50 Companies Where Women Want to Work’ for four consecutive years, since 2006
• McDonald’s was named ‘Best Place to Work in Hospitality’ in both 2007, 2008 and 2009
