Good People Everyone who works at McDonald’s has the opportunity to take part in structured training, whether that’s in customer service, team work or financial management. We believe these skills will serve them well, wherever their career takes them.
• Qualifications
Many of the training programmes we offer lead to nationally recognised qualifications, ranging from certificates in maths and English to Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeships. And thanks to our work with Manchester Metropolitan University, our Business Managers can even study for a Foundation Degree. Many of these training programmes are available online. And the ourlounge portal gives staff access to training, news and information, wherever they are.
• Apprenticeships
From June 2013 the school leaving age will rise to 17 (and in 2015 it will rise again, to 18). This means that every single 16-year-old in full-time employment will need to be undertaking a recognised training programme. Our Apprenticeship programme is perfect for young people who prefer a more vocational approach to their education. It lasts a minimum of 12 months, and at the end of it our Apprentices have a qualification that’s equivalent to five GCSEs (Grade A*-C). In October 2010, Ofsted awarded the programme a ‘good’ overall rating, with several areas achieving the top ‘outstanding’ rating. Our Apprenticeship programme is a great way of mixing paid work with further study.
Good Food We always strive to serve our customers high quality food that’s locally sourced whenever possible.
In 2011, we spent over £320 million sourcing quality ingredients from Britain and Ireland.
100% of our beef is British or Irish.
We use 100% chicken breast meat in our chicken products.
All our fish has been sustainably sourced since 2001.
All of the eggs used across our entire menu are free-range (and have been for ten years).
We won’t work with any supplier who doesn’t comply with the animal welfare standards required by UK and EU legislation.
• Farm Forward
We really value our farmers which is why we launched the Farm Forward initiative in March 2012. It aims to create a secure future for British and Irish farming by helping young farmers into the industry, as well as supporting existing farmers.
Good NeighbourGiving something back to local communities is something we’re passionate about.
• Football focus
As the Official Community Partner of the four UK Football Associations, we’ve helped raise standards in over 6,000 local clubs and created over 20,000 new football coaches. Many of our individual Business Managers and Franchisees have played a big role at grassroots level, by sponsoring and supporting their local teams.
In 2012, we combined all our football activities into one programme, McDonald’s KickStart. It offers once-in-alifetime experiences for young players and celebrates the heroes of grassroots football through special Community Awards – to find out more, go to
www.mcdonalds.co.uk/kickstartWe’re committed to improving and celebrating football whenever possible – we’ve even got our own internal tournament, the McDonald’s Cup.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities
Our charity of choice for over 20 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) supports families with children in hospital, by providing free accommodation just a stone’s throw from their child’s ward. There are over 450 rooms available nationwide and families can stay for as long as they need to – whether it’s two days or two years. The charity’s biggest source of income comes from the collection boxes in our restaurants, through which customers give millions of pounds each year.
• Litter picking
We’ve been running litter patrols since 1982. Our litter pickers walk around 150,000 miles every year – that’s the same as walking round the world six times.
• Being green
We’ve put sustainability at the heart of our business plan. And the bright ideas and hard work of our people have helped us to start making a real difference.
- Our used cooking oil is recycled and turned into biofuel to power our delivery fleet.
- 15,000 tonnes of our waste is turned into electricity every year.
- We’re working to cut carbon emissions from our beef farms with a pioneering initiative run by the E-CO2 project.