Wow. Too bad they didn't have this when I was going to high school in America. I probably could have gotten out of school a year earlier:
LONDON — New on the McDonald's menu: a takeaway diploma.
The government is giving the U.S. burger chain — along with a rail company and an airline — the right to award credits toward a high school diploma to employees who complete on-the-job training programs.
The plan, announced Monday, is part of a push to improve skills among young people and offer even workers who dropped out of school years ago a chance to gain official qualifications.
It's the first time commercial companies have been allowed to award nationally recognized academic credits for their own workplace training plans. Experts and business leaders had a mixed reaction to the plan, already being dubbed "McQualifications."
McDonald's employees will initially be offered a "basic shift manager" course to train staff in everything they need to know to run a McDonald's outlet — from hygiene to customer service.
I can actually see some merit in this idea. The kids are going to have the jobs anyway. Why not give them an incentive to learn better skills while on the job?
