McDonald’s apprenticeship gives 43-year-old Paul Edmonds the learning bug

Known for his enthusiasm and hard-working nature, Paul rose to the position of restaurant manager, but the experience of becoming a father prompted him to reassess his work-life balance. He chose to lower his level of responsibility at work in order to spend more time at home with his family and make full use of the flexible working hours on offer, and moved to the role of Shift Running Floor Manager. This hasn't stopped him from concentrating on his longer-term career prospects, though. Last August, after hearing about McDonald's new apprenticeship scheme, which is available to all employees regardless of their age or previous qualifications, Paul signed up to become an apprentice. Although he hadn't completed any formal studies since leaving school, Paul applied his characteristic enthusiasm to his apprenticeship. Working alongside several other apprentices in his restaurant, he completed the qualification in six months, and was proud to be one of the first Hanworth employees to gain his certificate of recognition from leading awarding body City & Guilds, which accredits the qualification. Paul is keen to point out that there was more to his decision to take on the Apprenticeship scheme than just helping boost his career. "I didn't get as far as I wanted to at school and there were some gaps I wanted to fill," he says. "I really want to set a good example for my son and I want to make sure I can help him with his school study when he gets a bit older. "The Maths and English part of the apprenticeship really helped with that, and now I feel a lot more confident. I want to show my son the value of education and that it's never too late to learn." Paul's ambition and enthusiasm for learning are going from strength to strength. Since completing the apprenticeship, Paul has enrolled in a higher national diploma in Business and Marketing at his local college. The experience has also reignited his career ambition – Paul has set his sights on a management job at McDonald's UK Headquarters – once his son is a little older, of course. Fast facts Our Lounge: Launched in 2006; 3,500 currently signed up to MyLearning, which delivers GCSE-equivalent Maths and English to brush up basic skills or form part of our Apprenticeship McJob Petition: 2007 campaign. 105,000 signatures gained; supported by business leaders and 35 MPs Awarding body status / management diploma: awarding body status gained in January 2008; more than 1,000 Shift Managers gained qualification to date Apprenticeships: Launched in January 2009; over 5,000 sign-ups; 100 Apprenticeships completed to date; course takes 8-12 months to complete Work experience qualification: Launched in March 2010, 567 people applied within one week of the scheme, worth a Level 2 BTEC certificate in Work Skills, opening. LEP work trial scheme: Launched in March 2009; 274 work trials completed; 216 long-term unemployed hired to date Employee numbers: 67,000 in 2006; 72,000 in 2008; 80,000 by end of 2009; expecting to create 5,000 new jobs in 2010 Job applications: 2,000 being received each day; 1 in 11 applications successful Career progression: 9 out of 10 restaurant managers started as crew; 1 in 5 franchisees started as crew Employee confidence: 84% of employees feel proud to work at McDonald's and 94% believe the skills gained at McDonald's would be valuable to other employers Staff turnover: crew tenure - 2 ½ years, up from 18 months; restaurant management tenure 11 years; management turnover 4% Trust levels: regained the trust ratings experienced in 2002, representing a 62% increase since 2005. Clear spikes in trust levels coincide with Petition, A Level-equivalent, My Job/4,000 new jobs, Apprenticeships Sales snapshot: 4 consecutive years of growth; £265m sales added since 2006