Posted on 11/26/2022 7:38:37 AM PST by karpov
The tight labor market is prompting more employers to eliminate one of the biggest requirements for many higher-paying jobs: the need for a college degree.
Companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Delta Air Lines Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. have reduced educational requirements for certain positions and shifted hiring to focus more on skills and experience. Maryland this year cut college-degree requirements for many state jobs—leading to a surge in hiring—and incoming Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro campaigned on a similar initiative.
U.S. job postings requiring at least a bachelor’s degree were 41% in November, down from 46% at the start of 2019 ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an analysis by the Burning Glass Institute, a think tank that studies the future of work. Degree requirements dropped even more early in the pandemic. They have grown since then but remain below prepandemic levels.
The shift comes as demand for workers remains high and unemployment is low. Job postings far outpace the number of unemployed people looking for work—10.7 million openings in September compared with 5.8 million unemployed—creating unusually stiff competition for workers.
The persistently tight labor market has accelerated the trend that builds on a debate about the benefits and drawbacks of encouraging more people to attend four-year colleges and as organizations try to address racial disparities in the workplace.
Some occupations have universal degree requirements, such as doctors and engineers, while others typically have no higher education requirements, such as retail workers. There is a middle ground, such as tech positions, that have varying degree requirements depending on the industry, company and strength of the labor market and economy.
Lucy Mathis won a scholarship to attend a women in computer science conference.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
I'm glad this is happening. Fewer employers would require college degrees if (1) fewer people went to college (2) employers could test applicants (as the military uses the AFQT) without fear of disparate impact.
Might be better to train new employees instead of hoping they show up with all the skills they need.
If they didn’t vow to stop hiring straight white males over 40 years of age they wouldn’t have to lower their standards!
The power to hire should be in the hands of the Managers, not HR.
I’m in engineering, and HR are always the least intelligent and subject knowledge educated in every firm.
The idea that some fat black chick who hasn’t gone beyond College Algebra can tell a PE of 20 years who to hire is insane.
The only way engineering firms can make diversity quotas is to put black females in almost all non technical positions.
“Might be better to train new employees ....”
I remember back in my youth, that is pretty much how it worked, for generations prior.
When the college degree became the new high school diploma, things changed, for the worse.
Yay...beginning of the end for colleges & universities...hopefully
This is part of the plan to make folks dumber, it’s easier to do, opposite making people smarter.
What? There’s no market for new grads in Radical Feminism, Anti-Imperialism, Intersectional Intersectionalism, Gay Studies, Transgender Activism, Toxic Masculinity, Understanding White Privilege, or Microaggressions?
People without degrees can be less expensive and much more loyal because they are (at least for the time being) less mobile. On top of that, you can train them the way you want.
If they are younger, you can take the time to cross-train them to expose them to a variety of different departments and disciplines.
Absolutely! I am retired military over 40, degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, MBA, PMP....I can’t get an interview! I interviewed for a position in the city of Dallas a couple of weeks ago. All of my interview officials were black and the very first question out of their mouths was about diversity.
Lower the standards again!
At least the end of higher education being a dumping ground for non technical or specifically needed skills, ie medical...maybe fewer lawyers too... (I can dream)
Yep. Have a list of job requirements that would fill one of those 7-foot-long CVS receipts, don’t expect many applicants.
Awesome. Looking forward to the following
Chashiers that can’t count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qBwttRnAZ-g
I have had one job in my life, full time for 41 years. I own the place now, a tool and die company.
To be honest anything above general knowledge of the trade is a handicap many times for hiring, someone with a decent work ethic and who can read prints and a set of mics is my preferred hire. I still prefer to train hands on the way we do things, and not have to un-train them first.
(I usually am referring to former union workers, or “machinists” with 20+ years of experience that have done nothing but close a vise and hit the green button. Never had one work out going into tool and die ever, yet on paper they look excellent)
I disagree. A degree doesn't make a person smarter. My Hubby was an elevator trouble-shooter. He was 50 hours short of an engineering degree but they hired him anyway. He was known as the best in the business and called "The Wonder Boy" before he was 30. During Obamas term, the company he worked for was downsizing. They could hire 2 know-nothing kids and train them for what he was paid. Problem was, they were calling him on the phone to troubleshoot. He finally told them to GTH.
have reduced educational requirements for certain positions and shifted hiring to focus more on skills and experience.
Be encouraged by little things.
But keep in mind, you can’t do any job now without some certification. Why certification? My opinion? Govt regulations and liability.
We had a construction company & most workers had to lift heavy equipment. One day a fat black chick showed up from the City of Seattle and demanded to know if we had enough women in the field crew. I took her to the shop and told her to pick up one of our pieces of equipment. Her eyes about popped out “you expect ME to pick up THAT?” and that was the last I heard from her.
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