What are the college credits for working that Walmart and McDonald’s want to do?

The age-old debate about whether college qualifications or real-life work experience is more valuable has taken an interesting new twist with the news that Walmart and McDonald’s are pushing for employees to be given college credits for their work and training programs, as reported by NPR.

Which Walmart and McDonald’s employees can get college credits?

The two companies have already been able to convince some colleges to get on board with their program, with workers who are doing college degrees on the side earnings credits for some of the skills they have picked up on the job.

Walmart had previously shown their belief that qualifications aren’t the be-all and end-all last year, when they stopped requiring college degrees for the majority of corporate positions.

Bonny Boop, a Walmart employee with two associate degrees who returned to college in her 40s, has been one of the beneficiaries. While doing an online bachelor’s degree at Southern New Hampshire University, she discovered that a business operations class she had done at Walmart Academy counted for two college credits, which help speed up her degree.

Walmart and McDonald’s pushing to extend college credit program

Walmart has revealed there are more than a dozen short-form certificates and more than two dozen training courses its employees can undertake which will earn them college credits if they are also studying at the same time at specific partner universities.

McDonald’s, meanwhile, is working alongside community colleges to help employees who have done training in customer service and food safety get credits for hospitality, insurance and culinary arts courses.

A limited number of colleges and universities have got involved in the program so far, but the two companies are working to extend their reach and further blur the lines between traditional classroom education and learning on the job.