NRAEF Apprenticeship Program Review Session

Sponsored by: North Texas Community College Consortium, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Central Texas College

Review of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation Apprenticeship Program

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, North Texas Community College Consortium, McDonald’s Corporation, Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Retailers Association, Texas Food & Fuel Association, and the Texas Department of Transportation have partnered with higher education institutions from around Texas to create pathways from corporate training to higher education programs. Below is a brief history of our collaboration to date.

Our collaboration began with a meeting on September 22, 2017 in response to a request from McDonald’s Corporation to review their corporate training curriculum:

Since opening its doors in 1955, McDonald’s has been committed to the education and training of its employees. The company’s world-class crew training and unique management curriculum are recognized as being the most comprehensive in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. More than 300,000 people worldwide have graduated from Hamburger University.

In 2015, McDonald’s introduced Archways to Opportunity, a multi-faceted educational program that expands the company’s efforts to assist all employees, in both company-owned and independent franchisee-owned restaurants, in reaching their educational goals.

The Archways to Opportunity program provides eligible U.S. employees a chance to access free educational advising, earn a high school diploma online, develop proficiency in English, and attend college with upfront tuition. In the first 2.5 years, more than 15,000 McDonald’s employees and employees of franchise organizations have taken advantage of at least one Archways to Opportunity education benefit. As part of Archways to Opportunity, McDonald’s has awarded more than $14 million in tuition assistance.

On September 22, 2017, Dr. Christine Hubbard, President of North Texas Community College Consortium, and Dr. Tracey Armstrong, Director of Innovation at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, hosted a meeting at the North Lake College North Campus from 9 a.m.- 12 p.m. to learn more about the McDonald’s Archways to Opportunity programs.

Diane Timms, Education & Training Programs Consultant in Education Strategies/Operations Learning Solutions of McDonald’s USA, provided an overview of the Archways to Opportunity programs: High School Completion, College Access & Completion, Advising Services, and English Under the Arches.

While all four programs are important, Timms highlighted the College Access & Completion program. This program is relevant to the McDonald’s employee management training curriculum. All current and former employee management, training curricula through June 2017 carry American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations, which can be transferred to many two- and four-year colleges.

With 1,509 McDonald’s restaurants and approximately 75,000 employees in the state of Texas, higher education institution’s commitment to working to increase access and reduce time-to-degree for those employees who seek to advance their learning would be immeasurable.

Colleges attending the event determined to create a review process to evaluate corporate training across companies and industries, and a follow-up Business Program Sharing Session was scheduled for December 2017. Materials from the September 22, 2017 meeting are posted on our event site.

Our next meeting, on December 4, 2017, included additional corporate and higher education partners:

At the December 4, 2017 Business Program Sharing Session at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in Austin, we welcomed the Texas Retailers Association, Texas Restaurant Association, and Texas Food & Fuel Association as partners, and their CEOs attended the meeting. Each association representative shared information about corporate training programs provided by its members, and higher education business program participants identified the courses and programs most likely to be aligned with each one. A follow-up meeting for February 22nd was planned in order to review specific corporate training programs and make higher education PLA recommendations. Materials from the December 4, 2017 meeting are posted on our event site.

Our most recent meeting on February 22, 2018 focused on review of the McDonald’s and Texas Department of Transportation training programs:

The Texas Department of Transportation joined this initiative after the December 4, 2017 meeting, and their training program director, Chris Young, attended the February 22, 2018 gathering. TXDOT and McDonald’s completed corporate training articulation worksheets detailing the content and format of their training programs, and higher education teams worked in four groups to review these materials in consultation with Chris Young from TXDOT and Diane Timms from McDonald’s Corporation. Resulting recommendations are being compiled and reviewed in preparation for public release on April 1, 2018. Materials from the February 22, 2018 meeting are posted on our event site.

Our next meeting on March 22, 2018 focuses on review of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation restaurant management apprenticeship program:

Yvonne Loya from the Texas Restaurant Association has provided information about the apprenticeship program, and these materials are posted on this page for your review and consideration. You are invited to gather with your higher education colleagues from hospitality management programs across Texas to discuss this apprenticeship program and its possible application to your higher education programs. Please review the materials below, consider their alignment with your programs, and join us on March 22nd at Central Texas College to engage in discussion and make recommendations. This way, your feedback can be included in materials finalized by April 1, 2018.

Representatives from the Texas Restaurant Association will be participating in this meeting. We are meeting from 10am-3pm on Thursday, March 22, 2018 at Central Texas College in Building 106 (Student Center), Room 113. Driving directions, parking directions, and the Central Texas College campus map are posted below. Please register here for the meeting. You will be able to attend in person or participate virtually. Even if you plan to attend virtually, please register so we can contact you with meeting access information.

The physical address for Central Texas College is:

 

Central Texas College

6200 W. Central Texas Expressway

Killeen, Texas 76549-4199

 

We look forward to seeing you there!


Central Texas College

P.O. Box 1800
6200 West Central Texas Expressway

Killeen , TX 76540