Employees at Tyson Foods will soon have access to expanded educational opportunities thanks to a new partnership between Tyson and social impact company Guild.

The partnership — funded by a four-year, $60 million investment — will allow Tyson to expand its existing Upward Academy program to include access to more than 175 programs from some of the nation’s top universities and learning providers.

The program will cover all tuition, books and fees for team members, giving them the opportunity to attain associate, undergraduate and master’s degrees, career certificates and literacy and technology fundamentals.

“In 2016, we established Upward Academy,” said Tyson spokesman Derek Burleson. “It was really a pilot at one of our plants here in Northwest Arkansas, and since then it’s grown to about 50 of our locations. Upward Academy was really focused on providing some very basic life skills for our frontline team members, things like [English as a Second Language], digital literacy, financial literacy, even citizenship classes.”

The company’s U.S.-based workforce is comprises team members from more than 160 countries who collectively speak more than 50 languages. The Tyson Immigration Partnership serves 40 Tyson facilities in 14 states and helps provide team members with legal services needed to acquire U.S. citizenship.

The new expansion will allow many of those classes to be offered online, in addition to giving employees the means to seek higher education or to expand their skill sets.

“Because that Upward Academy curriculum will now be available online to all our team members, it automatically expands that,” Burleson said. “It makes it available to all our team members, regardless of whether they’re frontline, hourly or wherever they’re at.

“But this expansion is so much more.”

Since 2016, Upward Academy, an onsite adult education program, has provided free ESL, GED, citizenship, financial and digital literacy classes to frontline employees and is now offered at 46 Tyson locations, including the company’s three facilities in Carroll County — one in Berryville and two in Green Forest — which employ more than 2,600 people. As a whole, Tyson employs more than 137,000 workers.

“Labor is our number one challenge,” Burleson said. “Because of that, we want to be the most sought-after employer in the commu nities where we operate. It’s all in an effort to differentiate Tyson in the communities where we operate and be that employer of choice, give our current team members a reason to stay and prospective employees a reason to come work for Tyson.”

With the addition of the online curriculum, team members at all U.S. locations will now have access to nearly 200 learning programs provided by dozens of institutions of higher learning.

“This commitment to our team members reinforces our belief that they are the lifeblood of our current and future success,” Tyson executive vice president and chief sustainability office John R. Tyson said in a news release. “Providing equity and opportunity to every single member of our team is part of our goal to make Tyson the most sought-after place to work. Providing education benefits will continue to lay a foundation for personal and career growth for our team members.”

An online portal will provide Tyson team members access to curriculum and courses covering foundational skills, career certificates and academic degrees in several areas, including supply chain and operations, agriculture, manufacturing and automation and sustainability; along with several executive education certificates in areas including leadership and management, technology, and business.

Burleson said the new plan will make achieving educational goals easier for company employees.

“It’s the convenience factor,” Burleson said. “It’s being able to log on and work on this curriculum kind of at your own pace, when it’s convenient for you. It’s really about making it flexible for those folks that want to take part and take advantage of these programs.”

The expanded educational opportunities are the latest effort by Tyson to invest in its employees. Last year, the company invested more than $500 million in wage increases and bonuses for its hourly workforce and is exploring subsidized and onsite childcare, as well as seven free, near-site health centers, including one in Green Forest, which opened in May 2021.

“We are thrilled to partner with Tyson to further empower their team members to pursue career pathways that will help them open the doors to their dreams,” Guild CEO Rachel Romer Carlson said in a statement. “Tyson’s free education and upskilling program is enhancing its commitment to creating a top work environment and a workplace of growth.”

For more information about the company’s new educational opportunities, visit tyson.guildeducation.com.