In developing country such as ours, education and having a degree are greatly valued. Good education is a primary avenue for career advancement and financial security. McDonald’s Philippines is quick to address the issue and crafted its own Restaurant Management Development Program (RMDP), which provides educational opportunities to its hard-working and deserving employees.

It even took the program to a notch higher, and now its RMDP was awarded a University Accreditation Program by the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU), by virtue of Commission on Higher Education’s Expended Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP).

McDonald’s restaurant managers who have completed the comprehensive four-level curriculum roadmap (or four main levels of training) and have attended McDonald’s Restaurant Leadership Program in LPU will be diploma-holding graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration or a Bachelor of Science degree in International Hospitality Management.

“One of the things that we wanted to do is provide what our employees valued, a college degree,” says Chona Torre, McDonald’s vice president for Human Resources.

“Nothing beats a college degree, so we worked with LPU in putting together and getting the accreditation. Now our managers who would want to get the program have the ability to earn a degree—not like earning credits—it’s an actual diploma,” she states.

“It’s the first of its kind, not just in the Philippines, but for McDonald’s globally,” says Kenneth Yang, McDonald’s Philippines president and CEO. “We are very proud to partner with the prestigious Lyceum of the Philippines University,” he states.

He also mentions that LPU produces the most number of hospitality management graduates in the Philippines, which powers most of McDonald’s Philippines work force.

As of date, 55 restaurant managers are eligible for this comprehensive program, which is operation intensive and touches fundamental aspects of sales and marketing, customer and people management, as well as profit and loss. It’s just like learning the skills to run your own restaurant business.

Holistic program

Aside from the fundamental and key areas in operation, Vice President of Academic Affairs of LPU Dr. Conrado Inigo Jr., states LPU supports the holistic educational development of each individual.

According to Inigo, the McDonald’s curriculum is fashioned over an educational model that aims to develop the holistic dimension of the student through development knowledge and through values and attitude.

The restaurant managers are not tied down to McDonald’s after owning a diploma, in fact, Yang commits to honest social corporate responsibility of paying forward, “if they decide to move on, what’s good is that the restaurant managers have the skill for lifetime employment.”

The Chinese adage couldn’t be truer: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”