FDBusiness.com

McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland has officially opened its new drive-thru restaurant on Dublin’s East Wall Road. McDonald’s has created 60 new jobs as part of this €1.7 million investment, bringing its total workforce in Ireland to 5,000 people across 90 restaurants.

The new restaurant features technology such as self-order kiosks and Samsung Galaxy tablets as well as a children’s play area.  The restaurant can accommodate 170 diners over two floors at one time.

McDonald’s Owner Operator, Amir Afsar, comments: “We’re very proud to create 60 new jobs in the East Wall community with the opening of this new restaurant, which has a strong family focus at its heart.  Our employees regularly tell us they appreciate the opportunity to enrol in accredited training programmes, while also working in an environment that’s flexible and fun.  95% of McDonald’s restaurant managers start off behind the ‘till but McDonald’s offers best-in-class training programmes that help staff progress quickly along the career path.”

McDonald’s Director of Operations, Jimmy Edwards, adds: “We’re known for providing customers with a great experience in terms of both tasty food and a relaxed atmosphere.  We’ve listened to what customers want and we’re confident that elements we’ve introduced in the East Wall Road restaurant will be warmly received by the public. These include self-order kiosks, Samsung Galaxy tablets and a new kitchen set up, where food is freshly prepared as soon as an order is placed. It’s a great atmosphere for both our customers and staff.”

Partnering with City & Guilds Ireland, McDonald’s has achieved accreditation for its Crew Development Programme (CDP) which new employees start working through from day 1 on the job; over a quarter of all staff have been awarded a City & Guilds qualification.  As they move up the career ladder, McDonald’s staff can attain a 3^rd level qualification, from diploma to degree level, from the National College of Ireland.

To support employees in pursuing lifelong learning, McDonald’s launched its Scholarship Programme and Awards in 2001. This initiative celebrates the hard work and dedication of McDonald’s employees, who are completing college and further education studies. Each year, fifteen employees receive a scholarship with each winning employee receiving €1,000 towards their education costs.

McDonald’s was first established in Ireland in 1977. All McDonald’s beef, bacon, milk, cheese, water and eggs are 100% Irish. McDonald’s Europe is the single largest purchaser of Irish beef by volume and one in every five hamburgers sold in McDonald’s across Europe every year is of Irish origin. The company also exports Irish dairy produce, bacon and eggs into the McDonald’s system internationally.