McDonald’s is one of the nation’s largest entry-level employers, and like a growing number of businesses, it provides extensive education benefits for front-line workers to improve opportunities for themselves and their families.

In this podcast, Lisa Schumacher of McDonald’s Corp. talks about how the fast-food giant supports workers as they earn and learn through English-language training, money for college, and technology aimed at helping them explore their career options.

Five years ago, Ricardo Rojas had been a successful network systems engineer for a health insurer in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Then he got laid off. Rojas struggled to find steady work. Then came Hurricane Maria. Jobs became even more scarce.

Rojas headed north—way north—to a small Minnesota town 10 miles from Canada and two hours from a Target. Polaris, the Minnesota-based motor-sport manufacturer, wanted workers in a remote part of the state with more jobs than workers.

For Rojas, this was a lifeline. It's also an example of the shifting demographics and cultural adjustments that have changed small-town America in recent decades.