College Should Not be a Drawbridge

College can be a terrific bridge to opportunity, but should not be a drawbridge that shuts out anyone who doesn’t manage to cross it. How does this play out in our economy? When employers use three seemingly innocuous words - “bachelor’s degree required” - it automatically screens out the 50% of U.S. workers who are STARs - skilled through alternative routes, rather than a bachelor’s degree.

These 70+ million STARs have gained their skills through multiple pathways - including on-the-job, through military service, community college, workforce training programs, skills bootcamps, and more. In fact, many STARs have college credit, but could not finish for a lot of reasons - and many STARs aspire to go to college. But asking “why don’t people just get a bachelor’s degree?” is like asking - why does “life” happen? Time, money, family needs, health, transportation, interest in working right away - these are just some of the many factors at play. There is a huge misconception when some people assume “Oh, you didn't finish college - you were irresponsible.” No, you were responsible. You didn’t finish college, you worked. You took care of your family. You had to make the responsible choice for you and your family.?

Far too many employers have been sleepwalking into a system that creates a “paper ceiling” screening out the majority of workers, including millions of STARs who possess sought-after skills. Here are a few articles that outline the data on how the paper ceiling impacts STARs and why tapping into the STARs talent pool may start with removing degree requirements, but that step is just the beginning:

• ICYMI: I spoke with economist Tyler Cowen earlier this year on “signal pluralism,” the college wage premium, and the data-backed case for STARs on his podcast Conversations with Tyler . And, if you’d like to learn how our system got this way I suggest reading my op-ed in The Washington Post . https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/byronauguste_byron-auguste-on-rewiring-the-us-labor-activity-7008176960686170112-FiN2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop ??
• In Quartz , Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza covers how “Employers that are trying to expand their talent pools and hire inclusively amid a labor shortage are rethinking their job requirements.” While removing a degree requirement sends an important signal to STARs - it also needs to be paired with a STARs-hiring strategy. Just like employers have college graduate talent strategies - they also need STARs talent strategies. As Blair Corcoran de Castillo , senior director at Opportunity@Work , shares in the article: “Just removing a degree requirement in a job description doesn’t make it go to [someone without a degree], so they have to think about their recruitment strategies in a different way.” https://qz.com/companies-can-drop-degree-requirements-but-they-still-1850741892 ?

• Paul Fain and Elyse Ashburn share a fact-based and thorough perspective on the centrality of the “both/and” approach that the #tearthepaperceiling #skillsfirsthiring movement is anchored on, citing Kate Naranjo 's op-ed: "if we want to rebuild economic mobility, we must see both college and ‘alternative routes’ as viable ways to build a thriving labor force and a path to the middle class." Opportunity@Work aims to ultimately change the underlying “revealed preferences” so employers find skilled talent and skilled talent can find employers looking for them, no matter their route. https://workshift.opencampusmedia.org/degrees-and-populist-virtue-signaling

As Fain and Ashburn wrote,?

“Who Benefits: The bachelor’s degree clearly pays off for the typical graduate…

Who Loses Out: Most Americans don’t hold four-year degrees.”

I don’t know about you - but I do not believe a system in which most Americans lose out works for our economy. The good news is - we can create a system that values skills - no matter where they came from.

Yes, college is a highly-valued educational path - as it should be. Many people want to be on this path, or even start down this path, but life gets in the way.? Especially for the non-affluent, there are many life-altering forces which put college completion out of reach for so many. Fortunately, college is not the only way to gain valuable skills. The routes that STARs take are all powerful ways to gain valuable experience.?

As we head into Labor Day - a holiday that recognizes the contributions and value of workers to our economy - let’s remember to value the skills and experiences that STARs contribute to our country every single day. Together and on purpose, we should focus our efforts on making the labor market work for all Americans - our country depends on it.?

All the best,

Byron?