The U.S. service industry has struggled significantly with retaining workers following the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic resulted in hundreds of thousands of job losses due to closures in accommodations and food service businesses, followed by a record high percentage of voluntary resignations among service industry workers. This explanatory qualitative study explores the strategies human resource professionals in the service industry in the United States or United States Minor Outlying Islands employ to integrate education benefits and the impacts of employer-sponsored education benefits on their organizations. Two research questions were developed to guide this study, focusing on exploring how human resource professionals use education benefits to enhance worker retention and the impact this has on organizational performance. Utilizing a theoretical framework that integrates human capital planning, human capital theory, and human resource theory, 15 full-time human resource professionals in the United States service industry completed an online anonymous questionnaire. Thematic analysis of the data revealed five key themes: employee-centric leadership style, performance management culture, heightened human capital awareness, aligning with organizational goals, and persistent human capital challenges. The study findings indicate that employer-sponsored education benefits support organizations in their goals of attracting skilled talent, increasing employee retention, and promoting employee well-being. The findings contribute to the limited empirical research on employer-sponsored education benefits. The results suggest that U.S. service industry organizations, still grappling with post-pandemic recovery, can justify offering education benefits as part of their efforts to retain employees in the aftermath of COVID-19. There is still a great need for more empirical studies investigating the types of education programs and the influence of employer-sponsored education benefits on upward mobility. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]