ClickAJob Chief defends McJob

While McDonalds executives tour the country bolstering public opinion for the humble McJob as a counter to recent criticism, support has come from an unexpected quarter. Online ClickAJob chief Yngve Traberg, CEO of the UK's largest job search engine, is a strong champion of the skills to be won in the lowly-regarded fast-food service sector.

Such scorn for these jobs is undeserved, says Traberg. The service industry is one of the fastest-growing world-wide, and the discipline is possibly stricter than in any other sector. Far from unskilled, they're fast-food experts after only a few weeks. You won't often see graduates with such strong customer- facing reflexes stepping straight into retail.

Though the McDonalds work experience pays lower than most employees would like, it is an unfortunate fact of life in a sector with high staff churn. However the skills to be learned are unrivalled, and possibly the best grounding anyone could have for an on-going career in retail.

Despite the low pay, says Traberg, McDonalds' training programme is up there with the best. Often on their very first job experience, McDonalds workers quickly learn the strict disciplines of handling food and how to fit into a tight time-scale - skills that M&S, John Lewis or J. D. Wetherspoon would jump to have. Few careers could hope for a better foundation than that.

Speaking after a McJob insert with business presenter Declan Curry on BBC Breakfast TV, Traberg praised McDonalds staff for their professional commitment.

Customer handling, complaints awareness, a focus on urgency, insistence on quality, a strict hygiene routine and strong discipline are all rigid requirements. It might be sink or swim, but look at the entrepreneurial brilliance of those who succeed at it.

Such encouragement has become the norm at ClickAJob, where career development is taking on the same urgency as finding people jobs.

No work experience is ever lost when you look at a career, says Traberg.

Sometimes a low-paid start is a necessary rung up the ladder to making a success of yourself.