A running joke for many years has been the McDonald’s Degree.
Well what was a joke for many is now going to become a reality.
McDonald’s is introducing its own degree course in business management for its restaurant bosses in the UK.
The foundation degree, which will be accredited by Manchester Metropolitan University, marks the fast-food company’s latest move into education.
Read more on BBC News.
True it’s not about getting a degree from McDonald’s it’s about how a company wants their staff to get a degree without needing to leave their jobs.
It will be taught by a combination of classroom study, e-learning and training in the workplace.
This is also not unique, many other companies offer similar schemes.
Of course the “joke” only really works if McDonald’s starts to offer degrees to their customers….
McDonald’s is not the first company to do this kind of thing, it was recently announced that the supermarket chain, Morrisons, was in partnership with Bradford University’s management school under which Morrisons will fund 20 undergraduates through a three-year degree course in food manufacturing, paying them a salary.
What is interesting is how this kind of offering will impact on universities who, like Manchester Metropolitan University with McDonald’s, will be accrediting the degrees and very likely uninvolved in the delivery of the degree, even if they are involved in the design.
So is this the thin end of the wedge? A corporatisation of education that is one step too far? Or a logical step for learners and business?
I don’t know about the corporatisation of education however I do think that we are going to see a move away from big blocks of time being spent in FE/HE. If the fee increases go through I think that people will be disinclined to spend 3 or 4 years in education and then end up paying for it into their 50’s. Offered the facility to work and study then I think that more people will take that up. The Open University has led the way for many years but I suspect that other institutions will start to follow.
Times change and maybe we need to rethink the way we deliver education after students leave school. Fewer non-vocational qualifications together with an increase of vocational qualifications which are taken in parallel with working.
Having a few years after school to find yourself, study, have fun (not necessarily in that order) have been great experiences but maybe they are ones we sadly can’t afford any more?
In all seriousness, I think this is an excellent idea. It means that staff can access real opportunities for learning and development, whilst the company can retain good people. It would be great to see more development of this kind of workplace-supported higher education model, thereby enabling more people to access learning without having to accrue huge debts, or compromising on issues such as family or location. And there’s also a clear benefit to the company in terms of better-qualified and more motivated staff, so everyone wins!