McDonald鈥檚 employees on Vancouver Island have a new post-secondary education opportunity in their midst.

The world鈥檚 largest fast-food chain and North Island College announced a new credit agreement program on Nov. 30 in Courtenay.

Under the agreement, McDonald鈥檚 employees can obtain up to 24 credits (eight classes worth) towards NIC鈥檚 Bachelor of Business Administration degree if they鈥檝e completed all of the management training modules offered through the restaurant.

This means McDonald鈥檚 employees can save more than $2,300 in tuition if they enroll in the community college鈥檚 business administration program.

鈥淭his agreement recognizes the training and development our managers undertake during their time working at McDonalds,鈥� said Stuart Aldred, the owner and operator of the Comox Valley鈥檚 four McDonald鈥檚 restaurants. 鈥淣IC has looked at our curriculum and they鈥檝e matched it with the curriculum they offer in their business program.鈥�

The agreement was signed last summer and implemented this fall.

NIC president John Bowman says the program will save new students time and money, as 24 credits are the equivalent of one-fifth of the college鈥檚 business administration program.

鈥淭he high-quality training that McDonald鈥檚 offers is equivalent to much of our first-year business program, so we鈥檙e happy to be able to certify it on behalf of the college,鈥� he said.

The first person to participate in the program is 24-year-old Brandon Sawyer, who has worked at McDonald鈥檚 for eight years in various capacities. Sawyer enrolled at NIC this fall.

鈥淲ith the McDonald鈥檚 training, it really set me up for this course. I actually found a couple of the courses [this semester] were very similar to the McDonald鈥檚 training,鈥� he said.

Bowman said that with more than 30 McDonald鈥檚 restaurants located throughout Vancouver Island, participation in the new agreement is expected to grow.

鈥淭he numbers are still small because it鈥檚 in its first semester, but it鈥檚 expected to grow in the years to come,鈥� he said.

鈥淭here are potentially hundreds who can access the program.鈥�

Correction: A previous version of this article insinuated there are more than 80 McDonald鈥檚 restaurants on Vancouver Island. There are closer to 30 restaurants.