ERIC Number: EJ1374644
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1067-1803
EISSN: EISSN-2151-755X
Skills, Not Frills: A Shift in Hiring Could Raise the Value of Community Colleges
Pierce, Dennis
Community College Journal, v93 n4 p19-23 Feb-Mar 2023
Spurred on in part by the labor shortages caused the pandemic, a growing number of employers are eliminating their degree requirements in favor of a skills-based approach to hiring. "Skills-based hiring" focuses on the actual skills and qualifications someone brings to the job instead of just the degree they've earned. For job seekers, this practice can open up many more possible career paths and make it easier to find work or change careers. For the companies that adopt this approach, it expands the pool of eligible candidates they can choose from, which can alleviate hiring challenges. And for community colleges--which have been laboring for decades to overcome assumptions that an associate degree or certificate is inherently inferior to a four-year degree--skills-based hiring could encourage employers to assign more value to the credentials they offer. It also opens more pathways to well-paying careers for minorities and low-income workers who disproportionately lack a four-year degree, reducing inequities and contributing toward a more diverse workforce.
Descriptors: Educational Change, Personnel Selection, Community Colleges, Value Judgment, Job Skills, Employment Qualifications, Occupational Information, Diversity
American Association of Community Colleges. One Dupont Circle NW Suite 410, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-728-0200; Fax: 202-833-2467; Web site: https://www.aacc.nche.edu/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A