Log in

Job crisis in the United States due to lack of professional qualifications

Share on:

More than 70 million people in the USA are affected by not having a degree, including many undocumented professionals or self-taught individuals who cross the border in search of a better quality of life and with the desire to find jobs that match their skills, according to estimates from the NGO Opportunity at Work

Imagine this scenario: you find a job offer that's perfect for you, requiring exactly the kind of skills you have. But you can't apply, or if you do, you're rejected because the position requires a university degree you don't possess.

WORK LIMITATIONS

More than 70 million people in the USA are affected by not having a degree, including many undocumented professionals or self-taught individuals who cross the border in search of a better quality of life and with the desire to find jobs that match their skills, according to estimates from the NGO Opportunity at Work.

WHO HITS THE CEILING?

Workers known as STARs* who acquired their skills and knowledge on the job, through non-university training courses and/or programs, among other means. * (acronym for "trained through alternative pathways") 

LABOR CRISIS 

In general, the number of workers without a bachelor's degree is even higher among minorities; 62.1% of those over 25 do not have a bachelor's degree, but that percentage increases to 72.1% for African Americans and 79.1% for Latinos. *According to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

WHAT EFFECTS DOES IT HAVE?

Unskilled jobs such as construction, agriculture, waiters, baristas and/or hotels among others, that is, cheap and poorly paid labor, in addition to having a wage gap between those with a university degree and those without, which has doubled during the last 40 years, according to Opportunity at Work.  

REQUIREMENTS

Job offers that were generally for people with average skills who could apply with high school diplomas, now establish a university degree as a minimum requirement, a credential that only a third of the adult population possesses according to the NGO report Opportunity at Work.

REALITY

According to Opportunity at Work, STARs* represent more than 501,000 people in the U.S. workforce, including 611,000 African Americans and 551,000 Hispanics. 

THE SOLUTION

The more large companies that join organizations like Chevron, Accenture (where only 261% of their positions require a degree), Google, IBM (where 291% of positions require a degree), LinkedIn, Comcast, and Walmart to raise awareness in the United States about the "paper ceiling" and encourage employers to abandon this practice.

News report compiled from: Washington Examiner and BBC News