SHELBYVILLE—Hoping to attract more job candidates with higher levels of education, food processor Tyson Foods Inc. is collaborating with the Middle Tennessee Education Center in Shelbyville to host a job fair next week.

The job fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, June 29, at the Education Center, located at 200 Dover St., Suite J, inside the Medical Arts Building in Shelbyville.

Tyson Foods, which operates a poultry processing plant in Shelbyville, is interviewing for first- and second-shift, entry-level and supervisory positions. Applicants with associate and undergraduate degrees and/or military leadership experience are preferred.

“We’re doing our best to get the word out to current and former MTSU students as well as potential employees in that area,” said David Gotcher, assistant dean at MTSU’s University College, who’s responsible for academic outreach.

Now in its third year, MTEC is a partnership between MTSU, Motlow State Community College and Bedford County. The center’s purpose is to provide additional higher-education opportunities to those who live in the southern part of Middle Tennessee.

The center has on-site classrooms as well as administrative and advising offices for both the Education Center and MTSU to offer assistance to students looking to earn a higher education.

Lisa Moore, who manages MTEC, said although this is the first time the center is hosting such an event with Tyson, the job fair fits with the center’s mission.

“We’re trying to partner with businesses in Bedford as well as all the southern middle Tennessee counties,” she said.

Moore said the application process will be done online, and the center will have computers on site available for applicants to use.

And while Tyson may land future employees at the event, the Education Center also sees the potential to land future students by exposing job fair attendees to the center’s offerings, according to Gotcher and Moore.

“We’re going to have a table there for our Adult Degree Completion Program,” Gotcher said. “We will pass along information for opportunities to move forward with wherever they are educationally.”

Moore noted that scholarships are available to attend MTEC. Applications are available online at the center’s website, www.mteducationcenter.com.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)