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In one of the richest nations on Earth, the path to prosperity has narrowed significantly in recent decades -- especially for those without a college education. More than 62 percent of Americans ages 25 and up do not hold bachelor's degrees, and the earnings gap between those with a college education and those without one has never been wider. In 2021, the difference between the median earnings of younger workers with bachelor's degrees and workers of the same age with high-school diplomas only was $22,000 -- the largest since the Federal Reserve Bank of New York began tracking earnings in 1990. That's happening even as the cost of college spirals upward, putting it out of reach for many. This has fueled anxiety, bitterness and a sense of alienation among the millions who see themselves as shut out of an economy that does not value them.
Making college more affordable is important, but there are other keys to the doors of opportunity as well. With an executive order issued on Jan. 18, his first full day as governor, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania used one of them: He eliminated the requirement of a four-year college degree for the vast majority of jobs in the state government, a change similar to one that Maryland and Utah made last year. This demonstrates both good policy and good leadership, representing a concrete change in hiring philosophy that stops reducing people to a credential and conveys that everyone -- college-educated or not -- has experience and worth that employers should consider. It is a step -- and a mind-set -- that other leaders should consider as well.
The decision was driven in part by the realities of a tight labor market. Unemployment in Pennsylvania is 3.9 percent -- close to the national average of 3.5 percent -- and lower than it was before the pandemic. Public and private employers have been struggling to find qualified applicants, prompting a re-evaluation of hiring criteria.
The nonprofit organization Opportunity@Work has been promoting the idea of skills- and experience-based hiring since 2015. It estimates that 50 percent of the American work force comprises workers who have gained their skills through alternative routes such as apprenticeships, military service, trade schools, certificate programs and on-the-job training rather than acquiring bachelor's degrees -- a deep pool of underutilized and undercompensated talent. If employers don't have a strategy for engaging this pool, said Byron Auguste, the group's chief executive and co-founder, "they don't have a talent strategy -- they only have half a talent strategy."
If the United States can't find ways to tap into all of this talent, we will not be able to solve our most urgent problems, like climate change and pandemic preparedness, or build a stronger and fairer country. Too many Americans see our society and economy as profoundly unfair, set up to serve the needs of well-connected elites and providing more benefits to people who went to college or know how to work the system.
A healthy democracy recognizes and promotes opportunity for everyone. Americans need to hear that message.
* Guest editorial excerpt from The New York Times.