Society must destroy the paper ceiling to save our economy

There are many examples where individuals have broken the glass ceiling. Kamala Harris shattered a glass ceiling when she became the first woman Vice President of the United States. She is also the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the role of Vice President. Sadly, there are other ceilings we must focus on breaking through in a modern society...

Millions of workers with in-demand skills and experience, overlooked for higher-wage jobs because they don’t have a bachelor’s or master's degree. Companies stuck on a talent treadmill, desperate to build a reliable pipeline of skilled workers. Two allies separated by an insidious and invisible barrier. Now the enemy has a name. The paper ceiling...

When I started my IT career in the 80s, I was a high school student who worked for a major insurance company in the Hartford CT area. I remember my then boss, Michael coaching me on how to become an IT professional. He suggested that I take an aptitude test and get accepted into the many training programs offered by local corporations where I could be a computer programmer in as little as twelve weeks.

As of March 2023, about forty-four million U.S. borrowers collectively owed more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. Additional private loans bring that total to above $1.7 trillion, surpassing auto loans and credit card debt. Only home mortgage debt, at about $12 trillion, is larger. Do we dare ask ourselves why do we now require college when it is time proven that individuals who graduated high school that had the aptitude can build large-scale IT infrastructure that has stood the test of time?

As America is a melting pot of ideas, do we acknowledge that we have allowed some suboptimal ideas to immigrate into our culture from foreign lands that should have been stopped at the border? Do we think this cancer is caused by government creating fake news requirements as part of immigration visas and their criteria to infect the marketplace of talent?

Consider this. More than 70 million workers in the U.S. don’t have a college degree - that’s half the workforce. Not that long ago, these workers, now known as STARs for Skilled Through Alternative Routes, provided companies with a reliable pipeline of skilled talent. In exchange, companies provided a pathway to upward economic mobility for STARs. Together, STARs and companies built a thriving economy where both sides prospered. The trades that built america were built on an apprenticeship model. We need to ask serious questions about ourselves if we want to save our economy and prosper over the long haul.

Today, STARs and the companies who seek their skills and experience find themselves on opposite sides of an invisible barrier - the paper ceiling - separated by degree screens, algorithms, stereotypes, and even professional networks. The result has been a severe decline in STARs’ upward mobility, matched by a severe talent shortage as companies struggle to fill millions of 21st century jobs with skilled talent.

The paper ceiling is not a force of nature beyond our control. It is the sum of institutional and individual choices that prioritized hiring shortcuts over real skills

Conclusion

As Americans, we can and must do better. Our economy will suffer until we get back authentic leadership and get proactive in destroying things that bring society harm. Candidates in the job market must scold recruiters who want to use expensive certifications as screening tools. Workers and companies uniting to create a new and more equitable future of work in which skills matter more than what’s on paper. A future that is back in balance, when employers and employees can thrive again.

If your employer has a focus on #diversity, #equity and #inclusion but has done zero to tear down the paper ceiling, please share this article with them to help awaken the beast that is hiding in plain sight.

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