learndirect has been working in partnership with McDonald’s since 2012, helping their employees gain the skills they need to flourish through the delivery of English and maths Functional Skills.
Sue Husband, Education Manager at McDonald’s explains how the partnership is benefitting both the business and their employees;
“Ever since McDonald’s came to the UK almost 40 years ago, one of the key things we wanted to do for our employees was to help them develop and reach their potential. We know this is good for the business but also for the individuals as well.
“When we look for companies to work with, the most important thing for us is finding one which is a good cultural fit and which can deliver what we really need. We also needed a business which could deliver Functional Skills online and that’s something learndirect has a proven record of doing.”
McDonald’s was particularly keen to make the learning journey as smooth as possible for their employees, so learndirect worked with them to ensure they could access their Functional Skills course through an existing internal website.
Sue said: “We always want to make things as simple as possible for our employees. We have an internal website called Our Lounge and learndirect worked with us to allow our employees to access their learning through this so it feels quite normal, there’s no stigma attached and it makes it really straightforward.”
With a large number of restaurants open 24/7, McDonald’s also needed to be able to offer employees flexible learning hours. By delivering learning online and providing tutor support via a dedicated customer service centre in Leicester, learndirect is able to provide employees with the flexibility they need.
Sue said: “We’re a 24/7 business so a lot of our employees work shifts. It’s really important for them to be able to access their learning at any time which suits them.
“Time and time again our employees tell us they feel more confident when they’ve completed an Apprenticeship and a lot of the confidence comes from the Functional Skills element. It’s widened our talent pool and has helped people who might not have ordinarily put themselves forward for higher positions.
“I would say to any business embarking on something as important as helping their employees gain Functional Skills – take your time and pick your partner carefully – but we’re really pleased we chose to work with learndirect and look forward to growing our programmes with them in the future.”
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