Apprenticeship or McDonalds?

kilasuit

wontfallforit wrote: »

The advantage to McD's is that owing to its high staff turnover and apparently undesirable working conditions, one can be promoted quite quickly, especially if you already have or are willing to gain qualifications like A-Levels and higher.

(According to McDonalds themselves, they heavily promote from within, and the majority of their managerial staff started out as mere crew members).

The downside, though, is that working conditions obviously vary from store to store (judging by OP's comments re hours/contract, s/he may be working in an undesirable store, possibly with poor management), and all levels of store staffing can involve some unsocial hours, a fair deal of stress, and dealing with "delightful" customers.

As others say, the apprenticeship may be the way to go, and could well prove to be a good 'investment'. As starrystarry says, though, I'd try to keep a foot within the McDonald's door, too (though from what I understand from friends who have worked there, it can be really easy to return to work at McD's, even some time after leaving).

Yes its quite easy to be promoted within BUT it seems like i'm being forced to stay at rank i am due to the Store Manager having a problem with the fact that i had got another job elsewhere (full time) asked to stay on part time hours and then less than a month later asked to come back full time. And it seems from this point that they haven't changed my contract back to full time even though up until the 1st week of this month i was doing 28-40 hours a week.
Also i dont think he wants to promote me as theres been 2 others that have been pushed ahead when they started the road to promotion at the same time as me (yet they are part timers).


Oh and also they have been hiring more people each month (which limits the available hours more) whilst not gettin rid of any staff. Mis-Management of the store is rife as none of the shift managers get respected by the store manager as if he makes a decision that someone is situated in the wrong place in the store he'll move them without informing the shift manager.

kilasuit

I honestly cant wait to get out of there BUT i'm not sure i'd be able to afford it.

I think that the CAB are going to hate me on monday morning due to the amount of Q's i'm going to have.

jackieb

aliasojo wrote: »

This may differ from area to area but Apprenticeships where we are in Scotland are often like gold dust. Each Apprenticeship offered usually has many many people trying to get on the course.

If you have an opportunity to get an Apprenticeship, I strongly suggest you grab it with both hands. It's worth some hardship in the early stages and you'll find ways of coping. Nothing good comes easily but it's often those who accept the hard times, who get on in life later.

My son is an Apprentice in his final year. He was 17 when he started and at the time he debated whether to get a job anywhere else just so he could get some money. (He was never very good at seeing the bigger picture.) Thankfully he decided being skint for a couple of years was worth it and he's now beginning to reap the rewards. His work gave him the opportunity to go to Houston to help on a short term contract and he was coming out with a thousand pounds a week in his hand. Granted this isn't the norm but the point I'm trying to make is that you will have many more opportunities in life if you have a skill under your belt. MacDonalds might supply you with cash in the short term but it will also limit your options greatly.

Good luck.

Was that with Opito?

aliasojo

@ jackieb, no it wasn't. Right industry though.

Owain_Moneysaver

McDonalds are renowned for keeping individual staff member's hours low - I don't know if there's a financial / tax reason for this (lower employer NI contribs perhaps) but maybe there is another restaurant nearby you could transfer to? It may be different if the restaurant is owned by McD's or is franchised.

If you are working fewer than xx (16?) hours a week you can still claim JobSeekers Allowance, and weeks when you work more than yy hours you may get Tax Credits, so it might be worthwhile checking with eg Citizens Advice Bureau that you are getting all your entitlements.

Alternatively, and it's not easy at the moment, but look around for another job that will give you enough hours even at minimum wage.

SailorSam

lr1277 wrote: »

15 - 20 years ago, Mcdonalds was meant to have the best management training program. If that is still the case and management is something you are interested in, it would be worth considering.

Perhaps McD send the most promising people on a sandwich course.

Oldernotwiser

SailorSam wrote: »

Perhaps McD send the most promising people on a sandwich course.

Burger that!

aliasojo

kilasuit wrote: »

I think that the CAB are going to hate me on monday morning due to the amount of Q's i'm going to have.

Lol. You ask as many questions as you need to. It's the only way to progress. You wont be a fool for asking, but you will be a fool if you don't.

donnajunkie

kilasuit wrote: »

I currently work at McDonalds doing as little as 8 hours a week (though i am meant to be on a 28hour+ contract) and tbh am fed up of it there, so i have been looking at Apprenticeships which looks to be about £90-£100 a week for 37.5 hours which would mean working alot more for about the same money (as things stand).

how do you manage to get £100 a week from working 8 hours at mcdonalds?

pinkshoes

Another vote for the apprenticeship!! It's a fantastic opportunity, and I'm sure you won't regret it!

Although things will be tight, go to https://www.entitledto.co.uk to see what benefits you can get in the short term, and learn to budget hard. A few years living like a hermit could lead to a very bright future, so it'll be worth it.