How to Hire Based on Skills
A guide for employers
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What You’ll Learn
- Remove unnecessary degree requirements and hire based on skills.
- Develop pathways for STARs within your organization and across local companies.
- Engage with local talent developers to source and hire STARs.
- Build a culture of belonging so that STARs can thrive in your workplace.
- Proactively hire more STARs.
STARs are workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes, such as on-the-job experience, community college, military service, or workforce skilling programs, rather than a bachelor’s degree.
There are 70+ million STARs in the US workforce. STARs represent a vast and diverse pool of talent, including a majority of BIPOC groups, as well as a majority of veterans and rural workers, and are located in all regions across the country.
Skills-based hiring broadens your talent pool
Opportunity@Work’s analysis of labor market data revealed that STARs have the skills to meet employers’ talent needs; they build skills in many lower-wage jobs that are similar to those required for higher-wage work. Skills-based hiring helps businesses fill open roles with high-quality talent in addition to helping expand opportunities to tens of millions of Americans.
Hiring STARs is diverse hiring
Bachelor’s degree requirements automatically screen out 76% of Black workers, 83% of LatinX workers, and 81% of rural workers. A recent report from Opportunity@Work shows that half of Black STARs are demonstrating skills on the job that position them for higher wage work now. It simply isn’t possible to create a more diverse workforce without incorporating STARs into your hiring strategy.
Ready to hire STARs? Check out our STARs talent matching platform, Stellarworx.
About Opportunity@Work
Opportunity@Work is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is enable at least 1 million working adults in America to translate their learning into earning – generating a $20 billion boost in annual earnings. Opportunity@Work engages with corporate, philanthropic, and workforce partners to directly address the barriers that STARs face, recognize STARs talent and remove bachelor’s degree screens. Learn more at www.opportunityatwork.org.