McDonald's has announced that it will be introducing its own degree course in business management for its restaurant bosses in the UK.
The fast-food company is making it move into education and the degree will mean that McDonald's employees will be able to get a nationally recognised qualification without leaving their jobs. The two-year foundation degree in managing business operations will be accredited by Manchester Metropolitan University and will follow on from the McDonald's apprenticeship scheme which was launched 18 months ago.
Senior vice-president David Fairhurst says it challenges "snobbish" misconceptions about McDonald's staff and is a demonstration of how seriously the company takes the training of its staff.
The degree is a customised version of Manchester Metropolitan University's management development programme. It will be taught by a combination of classroom study, e-learning and training in the workplace.
"People no longer want to choose between jobs and education. They should not be parallel universes," says Mr. Fairhurst. "There should be a model that is more like a "revolving door" - in which people can train and work at the same time."
McDonald's has 85,000 staff in the UK, and is looking to lead the way in educating employees. It will be a degree designed for managers but McDonald's claim that 90% of its restaurant managers began as crew.
Richard Lambert, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) backs the plans who said it was a "great illustration of how business can play its part in helping to deliver high quality vocational training".
There have been other recent examples of companies developing their own qualifications: the department store Harrods started a degree course for its staff, in union with Anglia Ruskin University and Microsoft also has its own qualifications which were awarded to around 17,500 people in the UK last year. In the United States last week North Carolina announced that they will be the first state in which all upheld secondary schools will use a Microsoft educational programme, which will lead to Microsoft qualifications.
