​Transforming the public sector workforce

Over the past two years, there has been considerable momentum around “tearing the paper ceiling”—that is, removing unnecessary degree requirements from public and private sector jobs. This seemingly small act of changing a job’s minimum requirements can have a tremendous impact, unlocking half of the nation’s workforce for in-demand roles across the country. 

Among those who have joined the skills-based talent movement, the public sector has been particularly enthusiastic, especially at the state level. With 25 states now taking this decisive step in the past two years alone, many question what impact has resulted from these actions. Our recently published analysis reveals signs of progress: clear increases in public awareness about skills-based hiring and workers “skilled through alternative routes” (or “STARs”); sizable shifts in job posting behavior signaling openness to new sources of talent; and a demonstration of the groundwork necessary to shift behavior in a case study of Colorado. 

The pace of this policy change matches a marked shift in awareness of the issue. A National Skills Coalition poll shows almost 60% of U.S. voters perceive jobs with unnecessary degree requirements to be a significant challenge facing workers today. Our own tracking of public opinion reveals a similar trend, as awareness of the “paper ceiling” and the associated degree barriers, stereotypes, misconceptions, and lack of professional networks have increased 50% over the past year. Awareness of STARs as a vast, overlooked, diverse, and skilled workforce has grown at almost the same rate. 

Public sector actions in both red and blue states are shifting in response. Across the 25 states that began a journey to bring more STARs into their workforces more than two years ago, our analysis of executive orders and legislation reveals the potential for these public sector leaders to open more than 500,000 jobs to workers without a bachelor’s degree. This signal of their intentions to consider a broader talent pool is critical, as STARs have lost access to almost 7.5 million middle- and high-wage job opportunities in the past two decades, in roles such as secretaries, human resource assistants, customer service representatives, computer support specialists, medical diagnostic technicians, and more.  

Further, when we looked at the 18 states that took executive or legislative action on degree requirements at least a year ago, we find that in the 12 months following their commitment, 7% more middle- and high-wage state jobs—or 3,950 additional job postings—became open to workers without four-year degrees. 

These shifts cover a wide range of jobs, including financial managers, human resources, and health technologists, which are critical, in-demand roles that offer economic mobility opportunities to STARs.¹ These roles also typically required degrees prior to the state’s action, illustrating that states are making good on their pledges to open more roles to STARs. Even more promising is that these are precisely the jobs for which STARs are gaining skills in their current lower-wage jobs; as such, state actions can shift access and expand opportunities for STARs to move into higher-wage jobs at scale. 

Still, state leaders recognize that the work is just beginning in fully implementing the intent of their skills-based policies. As states take organizational action, they remain eager to learn from one another, receive technical assistance to improve their practices, and encourage support from hiring managers for implementation. In response to this need, a coalition of state governments comprising the Transformers of the Public Sector cohort began work this month to break down barriers to public sector employment. Over the course of 12 months, the cohort—consisting of leaders from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Louisiana—will be provided with group technical assistance, individual coaching sessions, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities led by Opportunity@Work in partnership with ​​the Volcker Alliance. As part of the work, these state leaders will investigate current behaviors, test new approaches, and learn from their interventions. By this time next year, we’ll have qualitative and quantitative evidence of what works, where, and why. We will also have a sense for what progress can look like in a one-year timeframe in the public sector, which will inform how we support the implementation of similar actions in other states across the country. 

Since public sector employment accounts for over 15% of the U.S. labor force, the actions of public sector leaders directly influence the economic mobility of the labor force at-large.² Removal of degree requirements from public sector jobs is a critical first step to ensure our public sector workforce represents the community it serves, and to show other employers across the labor market what could be possible. This is not the first time the public sector has led the way to open access to employment in the U.S., and if progress continues, the private sector will follow suit. As such, we must continue to ask how we might transform the next generation of the American workforce by anchoring​ hiring and promotion decisions​ on workers’ current skills and talents, regardless of where or how they acquired them.