Employee retention is a problem plaguing restaurant chains in every corner of the industry. With the U.S. employment rate a touch over 4 percent, minimum wage hikes, and the accelerating turnover rates for hourly employees (TDn2K’s People Report recorded another increase in the 12-month rolling turnover rate in January) it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find quality help, let alone retain those high performers. But as TDn2K pointed out, “As restaurants compete for kitchen talent they will have to look to their compensation plans as part of the strategy.”

This has been evident, especially in recent months as companies report savings from recent tax reform. Starbucks, for example, said it would pour more than $250 million into a benefits package for employees that would include everything from paid sick time to stock and wage improvements.

READ MORE: Taco Bell to bring delivery to thousands of restaurants.

With that in mind, it’s hardly surprising to see Taco Bell’s response to its Guild Education pilot from 2017. The YUM! Brands chain saw a 30 percent increase in employee retention for those enrolled over the first six months. This test was in about 700 corporate-owned restaurants and included more than 2,000 employees, who have since worked with a Guild Coach to go back to school. Employees enrolled in a course, program or degree through Guild had a 98 percent retention rate in that six-month space, a 34 percent increase over those employees who were not enrolled.

The response from Taco Bell: Take the program national.

Taco Bell announced Thursday morning that it is partnering with Guild Education to provide education support for all 210,000 team members in its system of 7,000 U.S. restaurants.

These employees will have access to personalized college advisors and tuition discounts for thousands of classes, certificates, and degrees the moment they start working with Taco Bell.

“When we surveyed our employees, education support was one of the top three things they asked for,” said Frank Tucker, global chief people officer at Taco Bell, in a statement. “The barriers to achieving their education goals were time, money, and support. Our partnership with Guild delivers on all of these needs for our employees through access to online classes, financial aid guidance, tuition assistance, and a personal counselor to support each student in real time.”