51,100 new jobs on offer

Since this blog launched, we’ve been documenting job losses across the country. And a pretty depressing process that has proved to be. Our intention has always been to report on new jobs also, but understandably there have been few of those.

Imagine my excitement then, to read this article in today’s Times announcing 140 new jobs a day - 51,100 annually. But wait, reading on you’ll see that the jobs in question are with McDonalds, what many would disparagingly call McJobs. My intial reaction was exactly that: these aren’t real jobs, they’re just low-skilled, deep fat, automatons.

However I’d urge you to read the whole article by Steve Easterbrook, Chief Exec of McDonald’s UK for he makes some very valid points. As the headline says: there’s no such thing as a bad job, especially when it comes from an employer that recognises the benefits that come from improving the skills of its workforce. In today’s job market, you may not find the perfect job, but even a job with McDonalds may not be quite the dead-end that many would suggest. At the very least, it’s a reason to get up in the morning. The only kicker in the article was the suggestion that each of those jobs attracts 2,000 applicants (that’s 730,000 annually). All the more reason to have a good Gazetme profile.