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McDonald’s have cooked up a new GCSE grade B or C equivalent qualification for teenagers who undergo work experience jobs at one of their fast food restaurants.
Upon completing the 10 day work experience job at McDonald’s and carrying out some additional work at school, the teenager will be awarded a BTec certificate. McDonald’s have worked in conjunction with the exam board Edexcel to produce the new fully-accredited qualification.
During the work experience period, the young people will work on 13 key skills such as communicating well and working in teams.
In being awarded the accreditation for the new work experience programme, McDonald’s has become the first company in the UK to be able to carry out such schemes with the backing of an exam board.
Personnel chief at McDonald's, David Fairhurst, said: "Whether people join McDonald's for two weeks' work experience or a full-time job, the aim is helping them build their confidence, gain transferable qualifications and fulfil their potential. Now, a placement will give young people on-the-job experience in a fast-paced business environment, a great set of all-round skills for any workplace, and a national qualification to increase their employability."
And Heather Collier, National Council for Work Experience director, said that the formalised BTec would be beneficial to the teenagers by bringing together the ‘theory and practice of working.’
Some academics, however, are not so happy with the new qualification and have scoffed at the idea that working for 80 hours at McDonald’s could be seen as the equivalent of a GCSE.
If you would like to get some work experience under your belt or are considering carrying out a summer internship then head over to the main work experience section of the E4S website and start your search.
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