STARs are talented individuals Skilled Through Alternative Routes, defined as individuals at least 25 years old, currently active in the workforce, & having a high school diploma, but not having a bachelorโs degree. I myself am proud to be a STAR, I have an Associates of Science in Computer Science, a Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) certification & over 35 years of experiencing programming & in IT.
๐พ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ป๐จ๐น๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐?
STARs are a skilled & diverse talent needed to fill millions of jobs. STARs have developed valuable skills on the job, through military service, in community college, or through other alternative routes. In fact, research has found that millions of STARs have demonstrated skills for roles with salaries at least 50% higher than their current job.
๐66% of Rural Workers are STARs (ME!)
๐61% of Veteran workers are STARs
๐62% of Black workers are STARs
๐54% of Hispanic workers are STARs
๐50% of all workers in the U.S. are STARs (ME!)
๐STARs are a 70+ million strong talent pool (ME!)
๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐บ๐ป๐จ๐น๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
STARs reflect our countryโs racial, ethnic, & cultural diversity. They are represented in all regions, races, ethnicities, genders, & generations across the U.S. In fact, the majority of Black, Hispanic, rural, & veteran workers are STARs. Without attention to STARs, corporate diversity efforts simply cannot succeed.
๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ป๐จ๐น๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
๐๐๐๐ requiring Bachelor's Degrees for roles where that pedigree is completely unnecessary. ๐๐ rewrite education requirements with Associate's or High School degrees/diplomas options.
๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐:
Bachelor's Degree with 8 years' experience or Master's degree with 6 years' experience
๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐:
HS diploma/equivalent with 12 years' experience or Associate's degree with 10 years' experience or Bachelor's Degree with 8 years' experience or Master's degree with 6 years' experience
The rewrite includes way more talent & is less discriminatory. ๐๐๐, by not including education below a Bachelor's degree & having options for more work experience, we are discriminating against 1/2 of the workforce. STARs resumes will never make it through the ATS systems (including MINE!) Let's put the human back into Human Resources & include more STARs in the conversation.
Thank you to the Opportunity at Work organization for all the information I needed for this article. Learn more: https://opportunityatwork.org/
Comments