Fast food giant McDonald’s announced a new partnership with General Assembly (GA) to launch a pilot training program for a small group of McDonald’s employees to help them gain the skills needed to excel not only at their jobs, but in their personal lives. Interested employees will take an aptitude test to determine if they would be a good fit for the program, and if accepted, McDonald’s will offer time off and a stipend of up to $5,000 a month to take one of two GA courses, the company said. Matthew Brimer, of General Assembly, says the courses are intensive, and will require flexibility on the part of the employer. However, McDonald’s is committed to bolstering the skills of their employees. Atif Rafiq, who masterminded the project, said everyone in the company loves the idea, including the CEO. The program will seek out high-potential employees, said Rafiq, and while it will initially be deployed as an experiment, he said he hopes it will expand.