Industrial Placement

Adam Dinwiddy

Business

Placement (10 Months+)

Tell us about your industrial placement

I am currently studying Business Management at The University of Brighton. I choose to apply to McDonald’s as the structure of the placement year and the training offered looked incredible, it was an ideal opportunity and something that would really suit me well.

It all began with a two day welcome meeting in London with some other progressing managers, all from different paths, some were internal and some external. This was very useful and a great opportunity, it gave me a chance to hear from variety of presenters and company history.

The first six weeks I was with an assigned crew trainer, learning the ropes as a new starter. In my first month I felt I learnt a great deal about the procedures, requirements and the structure of the systems and hierarchy. I met most of the team and they were all very friendly and helpful. I picked up most stations and by the end of the period I felt very confident about moving to the next stage.

My first day as a crew trainer was great fun and very rewarding. Due to me having some good people skills beforehand I found this role very enjoyable, spending most days talking and training new starters.

Training as a shift runner was my next stage, this involved as much work off-floor as it did on-floor with online training sessions and exams, training days in different restaurants and a three day course in London. Around this time I was given the option to work in another store with a different set-up, for my individual training purposes. I agreed with this and got transferred to a different restaurant which had a ‘Made for you’ set-up. This was a fantastic experience and helped a great deal towards my training. On successful completion of the BSM course I got prompted to a qualified shift runner with a diploma in basic shift management.

The final stage of my year was to run areas, eventually leading on to running shifts. This was great fun as it was what I had been training for all year and now it is was time to put it in to practice. My co-managers all helped with my training and they were very supportive when needed. The feedback I received from my peers and customers was incredible, at this time I really felt this was for me and couldn’t wait to start running shifts.

I felt the year went very well and the structure of the I.P system was brilliant. There was plenty of support in place, the training was intense but if you are enthusiastic and love a challenge it can be very rewarding. There is plenty of opportunity to progress, show of your skills and increase through the ranks fast. I came out of the year with many gained skills, I got some good qualifications, met some great people and secured a good job position. After my placement I got offered a part time job role running shifts through my final year of university, eventually leading onto assistant level once I finish my studies and return full-time. I found for the year to be a success you need to have some very good people skills, be a quick learner, be motivated and be very enthusiastic. The support and training is there but due to the intensity you need to give it your all and be prepared for a challenge but the results and outcome can be incredible and great for the CV!

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