CEOs rethink degree requirements

This is an interesting thought and an idea worth trying out. Corporations reflect the demographics of elite management institutes, which in turn reflect the demographics of elite undergraduate institutions, and so on, all the way to the demographics of an elite nursery/playschool. Being in an elite nursery depends on one's family's socio-economic condition and the neighborhood in which one is raised. So the only way to break the chain and enhance diversity is to diversify recruitment. If HR managers used more Evidence-Based Practices in selection, they could reduce their dependence on mere credentials. https://lnkd.in/dSjKmUF

The arbitrary rules regarding college requirements for most of the entry-level positions created by outdated systems that no longer reflect our society hasn't made sense for quite some time. In addition to these requirements, we often ask for candidates to have 2-3 years in experience that many wouldn't have. It's truly hard to address the gap in opportunity if some of the world's most prominent employers aren't rethinking their stance. “It’s really important for us to recognize that because people haven’t had an opportunity early in their lives, it doesn’t mean that they can’t make a real contribution to your company,” Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck & Co stated. It's very exciting to see IBM and Merek shifting the norms. #careers #leadership #opportunity #society

Strong arguments on both sides here, but I still think there's something valuable, and hard to quantify, about getting a degree. In fact, many of the skills that helped in my career were the result of following my childhood interest all the way through college, culminating in a French degree.? I know a Bachelor of Arts in a Romance language might sound more like a foundation for a career in academia or foreign service than a springboard to a career in tech and business. But between conjugating verbs, refining pronunciation and diving into Camus, something special was going on. The skills I picked up in terms of how to reason, relate to others and develop empathy were all highly relevant to the business world. https://lnkd.in/ePBP6wj Riva Gold

Don't 'rock star' me. College degrees have long been used to screen in and screen out prospective employees. Diversity issues aside, removing the requirement theoretically would certainly open up the talent pool for candidates. For employers, not requiring a degree would address the labor shortage across industries. On the flip side, people with degrees have also found it challenging to get hired. In reality, people even with the right skills and experience have challenges finding employment which goes beyond the degree/no degree topic. The real problem is that employers have done themselves and workers a huge disservice with unrealistic job descriptions and hiring practices. Much of this has been done to combine multiple roles into as few as possible, while others have wage levels that hinder recruitment. Then on top of that, the business of hiring has gradually lost the human touch with an overreliance on automated screening tools. Unless you use the right words, phrases or even the right font, you're screened out. While degree/no degree is an interesting issue, the change needs to go deeper into hiring practices https://lnkd.in/gHWX_NP #diversity #college #talent #jobs #recruiting #careers #hiring

I couldn’t agree more with Kenneth Frazier and Ginni Rometty. At Kelly, we’re refocusing our internal recruiting efforts around experience and skills, instead of degree credentials. These efforts – combined with partnerships like the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Regional Talent Compact through which we are partnering to improve our region’s access to people with post high-school education credentials – are the way forward to a more equitable future. #WeWontRestUntil https://ow.ly/yrm350EGruN

Instead of “screening out” by pedigree, smart employers “screen-in” talent for performance and potential. Merck’s Kenneth Frazier and IBM's Virginia Rommetty are right on that CEOs must take leadership on removing the arbitrarily required four-year degree.? In fact, we know 30 million Americans without college degrees (workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes, or STARs) have the skills for higher wage work today. Need the receipts? Opportunity@Work's "Reach for the STARs" report has them.? https://lnkd.in/eY82JFQ #HireSTARs #workforcedevelopment?