McDonald’s staff offered hospitality apprenticeships

Apprenticeships will be made available to all employees at McDonald's, the fast food chain has announced.

Following the completion of a successful 80 restaurant trial, the firm will now offer employees across its 1,200 UK restaurants the opportunity to gain a Level 2 Apprenticeship in Multi-Skilled Hospitality. The qualification recognises job-specific skills acquired through workplace training, combined with GCSE-equivalent Maths and English.

The company said it would provide apprenticeships to up to 6,000 of its 72,000 strong workforce this year, and then up to 10,000 per year from 2010.

The drive is part of a £140m government scheme – unveiled by prime minister Gordon Brown – that is set increase the number of apprenticeships offered by UK employers by 35,000 in 2009-10.

David Fairhurst, chief people officer at McDonald's UK, said: "The success of our apprenticeship trial, and the national rollout we're announcing today, show that classroom learning is no longer the only route to new skills and valuable qualifications."

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 is offering is the A level-equivalent Diploma in Shift Management.