Are companies following through with no-degree hiring? | Ill. expands CTE, targets workforce shortage | The future is uncertain, but your gut can be your guide
Though many major US-based companies have taken college degrees off their required qualifications list on job postings, those companies aren't following through with hiring workers without degrees, according to a new report. About 60% of the US workforce does not have college degrees, and this report looks at which companies are still hiring the same people as before.
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In the 2022-23 school year, approximately 414,000 students in Illinois engaged in career and technical education courses, covering a wide range of fields, from welding and auto shop to nursing and coding. The Illinois Association for Career and Technical Education aims to further grow CTE across the state, supported by bipartisan legislation allowing students to substitute foreign language requirements with CTE courses to address workforce shortages.
Managing today's workforce can prove challenging, but CEOs and CHROs can get ahead of problems by regularly monitoring and updating hiring plans and business strategies for the organization they want to run, not the one they are currently running. Leaders can also be more transparent with employees to build trust, cultivate a culture of performance measurement and train managers to navigate the uncertainties on their teams.
Inflation slowed less than anticipated last month, and the Consumer Price Index rose by 3.1% over the previous year, ahead of the 2.9% economists had projected. Employee pay grew faster than prices, representing good news for the US workforce, and President Joe Biden said "wage growth has been the strongest of any economic recovery in 50 years."
Leaders can improve at giving constructive feedback to their direct reports by practicing, writes Lisa Kohn, who notes the feedback should be specific, timely, supportive, about behavior (not the leader's opinion) and invite a response. "By sharing supportive, positive feedback you allow others to feel good about themselves and what they're doing, and to get even better at it," Kohn writes.
Kawai and I were talking one night, soon after she got married. She told me that she was putting school on hold for a year so she could settle into her new life and focus on saving money for a home.
“Are you disappointed?” she asked.
“Why would I be disappointed?”
“Well, because you and Kiaha have your degrees and you want us to go to college and –”
I cut her off. “First of all, I’m not that parent,” I scolded. “I'm not a jerk. I don’t compares my kids or put demands on them about the futures they have to live.”
I then explained that I had encouraged her and her brother to get degrees because the fields they were considering required degrees. “Kiaha was pursuing IT and you were talking about business and HR,” I said. “Employers in those fields still give preference to people with degrees. It may not seem fair, but it’s the truth. People with degrees still command higher salaries and more opportunity to get their foot in the door at most companies.”
That was three years ago, and while things seem to be evolving, progress is slow. According to our top story today, it’s true that more large employers have removed degree requirements from their job descriptions, but their hiring practices remain largely unchanged. Data in a new report from Burning Glass Institute, a research organization that examines the workplace, and Harvard Business School confirms this. Just 37% of the large companies analyzed “made tangible changes in their hiring practices.” Forty-five percent of the companies analyzed eliminated degree requirements, but otherwise showed little change to their hiring practices.
I’m all for skill-based hiring. I think it’s smart. I think it’s a step in the right direction. And I think it lights a necessary fire under higher education.
But until we have reliable evidence showing that it’s a more widespread practice, I will encourage my children and grandchildren to pursue degrees.
What say you? Are you practicing skill-based hiring? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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