Tyson Foods this week is celebrating the five-year anniversary of its Upward Academy, an on-site education program provided at no cost to frontline employees.
The program launched as a pilot at a facility in Springdale, Arkansas in February 2016. Since that time, Upward Academy has been extended to 60 different communities around the country.
Upward Academy partners with local adult education providers to help frontline employees develop life skills, offer free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, High School Equivalency (HSE), U.S. citizenship, financial and digital literacy. Classes are offered immediately before and after shifts at Tyson Foods facilities for convenience.
Tyson Foods adapted the program in 2020 to suit the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instructors send printed materials home, helped students’ access curriculum on their phones, and provided digital learning labors with tablets so students could continue learning remotely.
The company also launched a complementary career development program – Upward Pathways – which will provide skills training and workforce certifications to frontline employees at no cost.
