OPPORTUNITY AT WORK INC

Opportunity@Work: An Overview

The labor market is failing millions of workers, especially the 70 million U.S. workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) instead of bachelor’s degrees.

STARs have developed valuable skills on the job, through military service, in community college, or other alternative routes. STARs are 50% of the U.S. labor force, and include 65% of Black workers, 55% of Latino/Hispanic workers, 61% of veteran workers, and 66% of rural workers.

Thirty million STARs have the skills for work that pays 70% more than they currently earn, but they are not in those jobs today. Moreover, Black STARs are twice as likely to be shut out of these middle-wage jobs even though they have the skills to perform in them. This gap has been driven in part by the practice of requiring a bachelor’s degree for jobs that historically did not demand one.

In the 10 years following the Great Recession, 74% of new jobs were in occupations where employers typically require a bachelor’s degree, leaving just 26% open to the remaining 50% of the workforce.

You can help us rewire the labor market.

Opportunity@Work believes that the opportunity gap is a solvable problem. Our research shows that STARs have the skills for higher-wage work and points to skills-based pathways to higher-wage jobs.

There are more than 70 million STARs in the U.S. who have developed valuable skills through community college, workforce training, bootcamps, certificate programs, military service or on-the-job learning. Currently, the lack of alumni networks, biased algorithms, degree screens, false stereotypes and misperceptions contribute to the “paper ceiling”: barriers to upward economic mobility for STARs.

Business leaders and policymakers often assume “no degree” means “no skills,” and talk about a “skills gap” constraining the American labor market. While closing the skills gap might be necessary for some segments of the workforce, it is insufficient to achieve gains in economic mobility and racial equity for the vast majority of workers.

To achieve greater economic mobility and racial equity on behalf of STARs, Opportunity@Work utilizes a two-pronged approach to rewiring the labor market: (1) making the business case that STARs are a skilled talent category that belongs alongside college graduates; and (2) building the shared infrastructure required to accelerate skills-based, inclusive hiring.

In Fall 2022, we launched our Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign alongside the Ad Council, Ogilvy, and a coalition of 50+ partners including leading talent platforms, technology-oriented consulting firms, and flagship companies that recognize this vast, diverse, skilled and underutilized talent category and want to bring the conversation about STARs to national prominence.

The campaign has garnered coverage from national media outlets (e.g., the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post) as well as interest from both private and public sector employers. In fact, since the beginning of the campaign, more than 15 states have announced the removal of degree requirements from state-level jobs.

Opportunity@Work, along with our Tear the Paper Ceiling Coalition partners, advocates for recognizing STARs as a valuable talent category on par with college graduates. In addition to raising awareness of the STARs talent category, we are also building infrastructure to support STARs hiring, including our Stellarworx talent matching platform and Stellarsight data dashboard for talent strategists.

Opportunity@Work is uniquely positioned to work closely with leading companies, local and state governments and national partners to break through the barriers STARs face along their career journeys. In the next decade, we aim to enable at least 1 million working adults in America to translate their learning into earning - generating a $20 billion boost in annual earnings.

We’re also deeply committed to the value of inclusion – the advancement of all people by proactively and equitably recognizing and valuing different experiences and backgrounds. Internally, we are led by a Black Founder and CEO and our staff and Operating Team are 64% and 80% BIPOC, respectively. By the end of 2025, we aim for our staff to grow from 30% to 51% STARs.

At the same time, we know we can’t do this work alone. Your donation to Opportunity@Work helps support more opportunities for STARs to work, learn and earn their full potential. You can help us change the narrative to celebrate and affirm the skills that STARs bring to the workforce. Let’s Tear The Paper Ceiling together.