How important is a college degree in today's job market?

Is a college degree a better indicator of job success than relevant work experience and demonstrated skills and abilities?
How important is a college degree in today's job market?
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In today's competitive job market, employers should assess what positions, if any, truly require a college degree and why.  Broadening this potentially limiting requirement for job applicants could not only increase the quantity of resumes submitted for an open position, but also result in a more diverse applicant pool both in terms of demographics and in the variety of related experiences and skills.  Trakstar, a talent and performance management system, shares their perspective here.

SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, also just published an interesting article about how the use of artificial intelligence embedded in many standard Applicant Tracking Systems may be disparately eliminating otherwise qualified candidates just based on a lack of a match for one particular configured criteria, such as pedigree, rather than assessing a holistic view of a candidate that may have transferable skills.

This is a topic which not only affects us as employers seeking to attract the most qualified candidates, but also as part of a global society which has put an extreme value, and an extreme price tag, on college education.  This is not an opportunity that many can even realistically access, yet it continues to be the minimum requirement for jobs in many industries.   What have you observed in AV to be the most important credentials for long-term success and professional advancement? 

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Go to the profile of Lisa Matthews, CTS - AVIXA
almost 2 years ago

@Alissa Haksar , thanks for sharing these articles. Every segment of the industry is challenged with attracting talent now more than ever.  These articles shed light on the significance of how a job is posted and how those criteria are translated and processed, potentially eliminating qualified candidates. 

I'm sure many while find these resources valuable and want to share them with their organizations and council members. Thanks, again!

@Justin Frick @Matt Eckstein @Gregory Rushton  

Go to the profile of Lisa Matthews, CTS - AVIXA
almost 2 years ago

adding @Megan Kuhman @Tyler Lawrence here as this issue continues to be discussed across our councils. @Damon LuVisi , please tag others that may find this useful! 

Go to the profile of Tyler Lawrence
almost 2 years ago

Adding our friends from the Sytems Integrators Council @Nathan Hufford @George "Red" Fournier Jr., CTS