A fast food giant held walk-in interviews all over the country last weekend, and Oamaru was no exception.
McDonald’s was looking to hire 2000 workers nationwide during its national hiring day, with 500 jobs available in the South Island.
McDonald’s Oamaru franchisee Rick Bagley said the recruitment drive came at the right time as it looked ahead to the busy Christmas period.
‘‘It’s important for us, for McDonald’s Oamaru, that we have enough staff to provide a service to the community, and we want to provide speedy, fast . .. quality food to the community, and by having the right staff and the right number of staff we’ll be able to do that.’’
He said going into the day the franchise was looking for ‘‘five to 10 more staff [members]’’ who were reliable and excited to turn up to work every day.
The franchise had about 50 staff and hired five employees through the national hiring day scheme.
He was really happy to have boosted his staff numbers by 10% in just one day.
New Zealand and Pacific Islands McDonald’s managing director Kylie Freeland said by supporting the professional development of its staff, it could help make a ‘‘genuine positive contribution’’ to the local areas it operated in, providing workplace skills applicable to any career.
Mr Bagley said more staff would help it continue to give back to the community.
‘‘All the people that work here are locals and we service locals — a majority of the people we service are locals.
‘‘We sponsor quite a few events, so that’s how we return back to the community.’’
McDonald’s operates 170 restaurants across New Zealand and employs more than 11,000 staff, making it one of the country’s largest employers.
