Millions of jobs lost in the pandemic may never come back—and many of those vanished positions are disproportionately held by people of color.

In this op-ed, leaders of the Competency-Based Education Network and Jobs for the Future say faster, more responsive pathways to degrees can be a lifeline for Black and Latino workers who not only are underrepresented in higher education but also often face biased hiring systems that make the signal of a degree especially powerful. 

United Airlines is the only major U.S. airline to own a flight school: the United Aviate Academy. The pathway to the cockpit through the Aviate program takes about five years. 

In an effort to fill a growing demand for workers and, at the same time, diversify its ranks, United has set a new goal: Half of all students admitted to its pilot training academy will be women and people of color. This summer, the airline launched partnerships with three historically Black colleges and universities to help.