The University of New England (UNE) has joined forces with McDonald’s Australia to recognise workplace training as university credit, helping thousands of Macca’s employees nationwide take their next step into higher education.
The collaboration is part of McDonald’s new Archways to Opportunity program, which allows more than 20,000 crew coaches and managers across the country to earn verified micro-credentials based on their workplace experience. These micro-credentials can be converted into university credits towards degrees in business, commerce, management, human resources, technology, and IT.
Each credential counts for up to one subject in an undergraduate degree, and combined, they can lead directly to entry into a Master of Business Administration. The program is the first of its kind in Australia, with multiple universities recognising McDonald’s internal training and on-the-job learning for academic credit.
UNE joins a consortium of institutions, including the University of Technology Sydney, Curtin University, James Cook University, and the University of Tasmania, offering pathways for employees to gain recognition of prior learning and reduce the time and cost of completing a degree.
UNE Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Moran said the partnership aligns with the university’s commitment to flexible and accessible learning.
“Seventy years ago UNE pioneered distance education that meets students where they are in their lives,” Professor Moran said.
“Today, our nationally leading expertise in inclusive online and flexible university delivery means we can support McDonald’s employees in the Archways to Opportunity Program to study while maintaining their careers and family commitments, without requiring them to reshape their lives around traditional university structures.
“We are excited to work with Capability.Co and McDonald’s to break down barriers to university study, to grow skills and knowledge in regional economies and ensure that our courses recognise the on-the-job skill and experience that programs such as Archways to Opportunity represent.”
McDonald’s Australia CEO Joe Chiczewski said the program demonstrates how the company’s training system can open doors beyond its restaurants.
“Archways to Opportunity is the next evolution of our commitment and shows our people that the skills and training they build at Macca’s are real, valuable, and recognised beyond our restaurants,” he said. “That’s not just exciting. It’s world class.”
McDonald’s invests more than $60 million each year in training and development across Australia, including on-the-job learning, online courses, and programs at the Charlie Bell School of Management, also known as Hamburger University.
The company employs over 115,000 Australians, with around 70 per cent of its workforce in secondary school, TAFE, or university. Through Archways to Opportunity, McDonald’s employees will now be able to turn their workplace experience into formal qualifications that could save them up to $20,000 in university fees and shorten study time by as much as a year.
The partnership reinforces UNE’s leadership in online and flexible education, building bridges between practical experience and academic achievement for workers across regional and remote Australia.
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