Dem
47
GOP
53
(Z)'s graduating class in high school had 420 members (easy number to recall, for obvious reasons). And in the graduation program, there was a list showing each person's future plans. (Z) went through and counted; there were only four people whose plans did NOT involve college of some sort.
(Z) knew at least 40 of those "going to college" people who had absolutely no business going to college. And note, this is not a judgment of intelligence or anything like that—many of those 40 were very impressive folks, just in a non-academic way (some very talented artists, actors, and musicians, for example). There are two types of people who should go to college: (1) those who want to be there, for personal/intellectual development, and (2) those who plan to pursue a career where a college education is a necessity.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the trend, in the last half-century or so, of pushing students toward college, even if they do not really want or need to go to college. First up is society, which has (somewhat) collectively adopted the wisdom that "a college diploma is the new high school diploma," and thus that anyone who lacks a bachelor's degree is somehow wanting. The second is colleges, particularly those that are for-profit, or are otherwise concerned about the financial bottom line, and so need to enroll as many students (who bring a lot of those sweet, sweet federal dollars) as is possible. And the third is employers, who have made a degree a requirement for far, far too many jobs where it's really not needed.
The overcollegeing of America's citizenry, if we may invent a word, has some obvious deleterious effects. To start, for some of those who do not pursue college (or, more importantly, for those who pursue it and bomb out), it can and does create feelings of inadequacy. Further, it can create real problems with upward mobility. If the 56% of Americans who do not have a degree are competing for the 30% of middle-class jobs where a degree is not needed, then it leaves a lot of people on the outside looking in. And finally, these two dynamics have helped foment a sizable, reactionary base of voters who are available to be taken advantage of by... certain politicians, let's say.
We write all of this as prelude to talking about a new study from the nonprofit Opportunity@Work. That organization has coined the term "paper ceiling" to refer to the lack of opportunities available to people who do not have college degrees but are "skilled through alternative routes" (STARs). They are working on both ends of that problem, by trying to convince employers to eliminate needless degree requirements, but also by trying to encourage non-college employees to pursue jobs where they have the requisite skills.
According to the new report, Opportunity@Work's efforts are paying dividends. Specifically, 38% of employers are now aware of the "paper ceiling," and 83% of those say they are now more likely to hire non-degree-holders than they were 2-3 years ago. Between this specific success, and other societal trends, the number of middle-class jobs unavailable to non-degree holders has declined from 70% to 60% in the past 5 years. Put another way, the 56% of Americans who do not have college degrees are now competing for 40% of the jobs, as opposed to 30%. That's a big difference. Further, Opportunity@Work reports that they've reached 15% of workers with their "paper ceiling" campaign, and that 72% of those are more likely to apply for jobs they have relevant skills for, but that they would not have applied to previously.
This is valuable and important change. All the time, we get the question "What will it take to end Trumpism?" And fixing this particular problem might be the single best way to hammer at the foundations of MAGA.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)