Dive Brief:

• McDonald's plans to open an additional 4,000 stores this year, reports  Chief Learning Officer. The initiative will require the use of more virtual learning modules that make it easy for franchise owners to train a large number of new employees.
• As part of its 2017 objectives, McDonald's will make its FRED and Campus Virtual training modules available to new franchisees, a vast majority of whom will open in China. Rob Lauber, CLO for McDonalds, says franchise owners would still be responsible for training their own employees.
• The training modules are brief and easy to understand, combining hands-on experience with virtual learning that mimics the environment of a typical fast food worker. Franchise owners can also track the progress of workers as they go through the training. 

Dive Insight:

McDonald's has long been known as a leader, not only in the fast-food market, but also in terms of innovation in training. Its virtual learning program is just one example of this.

Previously, the company announced a new investment in its corporate headquarters in an effort to appeal to a younger generation.

When employees receive the right amount of training, they can perform their jobs well. As franchisees engage their workers in the company-provided training, it will be interesting to see if this interaction evolves the McDonald's brand, particularly since it will be in an expanding Asian market.