Look to the STARs

A major focus of my newsletter in 2021 has been changes smart employers *should make* to compete for a wider talent pool - such as moving away from “screening out” those without college degrees, instead “screening in'', based on skills, readiness, and potential.? In growing numbers, companies are discovering the benefits of skills-first approaches: new talent, more diversity, and better retention.?

Many of the benefits US employers realize from more inclusive and skills-based hiring practices flow from tapping into an enormous talent pool of 70 million STARs, who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes with skills and experience gained in military service, community colleges, certificated workforce training, and/or learning in frontline jobs. Amid the Great Resignation, STARs-friendly employers are really playing to win. ?

While employers are essential, they are not the only meaningful source of change. As communities and policy makers become more conscious of the ways casual degree discrimination in hiring has contributed to stagnating wages and eroding opportunity for the almost two-thirds of American adults without bachelor’s degrees, public policies which intentionally aim to “level the playing field” which business practices have unfortunately (and sometimes unintentionally) tilted against STARs are coming to a labor market near you!???

In 2021’s final Opportunity Wrap, Opportunity@Work’s Cheston McGuire shares three examples of policy initiatives designed to take exclusionary screening practices off of autopilot, to put wind behind the sails of skills-based inclusion, and to implement the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act so that relevant “skills shortages” are tackled by including STARs and all U.S. communities in the post-pandemic recovery:?

• Starting in 2023, employers in NYC will not be allowed to utilize AI to screen candidates for open roles unless that technology has been audited for bias. Harvard Business School’s Joseph Fuller told Marketplace by APM “The internet has made applying for jobs easier than ever, but it’s also made the process less human” – which can lead to hiring biases. buff.ly/3GRM585
• Citing insights from National Skills Coalition’s Katie Spiker, Alicia Wallace reports on CNN that federal infrastructure legislation will create jobs for U.S., but “There's simply not enough money to educate and develop the hearty stream of skilled workers needed for all those critical roles.”? One implication: recognizing workers’ existing skills must be combined with training. buff.ly/3yAWOkd
• Shriver Center on Poverty Law's Audra Wilson writes in Crain's Chicago Business about the role of federal investment for neglected neighborhoods that, “As we collectively work to rebuild and recover, we must continue to lay the groundwork for a foundation that all can stand on with policies that address and dismantle institutional barriers that limit opportunity.” buff.ly/3GRrukb

Our economy won’t be fully powered until it is fully STAR-powered. In 2022, I look forward to everyone’s role in creating a U.S. job market in which all STARs can work, learn *and earn* to their full potential.

Best wishes for the holidays.

Byron