What it means that degree mandate for state jobs ended
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s recent announcement that Pennsylvania will no longer require college degrees for thousands of state jobs is being touted by many as a logical way to break down barriers and create opportunities for young adults entering the workforce.
“It’s going to open up opportunities for young adults and career workers to really access opportunities that they may not have had before,” said Carrie Amann, executive director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association.
The January announcement — one of Shapiro’s first executive orders as governor — opens up 92% of executive branch jobs, or 65,000 positions, to candidates without a four-year degree.
It also instructs state agencies to lead job postings with questions about previous work experience and qualifications rather than educational background when appropriate. Certain positions will still require degrees.
The order came as a growing number of states, such as Maryland and Utah, and private companies move toward skilledbased experience. Over the next five years, an additional 1.4 million jobs across the country are expected to be available to workers without fouryear degrees, according to a 2022 report from The Burning Glass Institute.
In Pennsylvania, the order will allow young adults entering the workforce to understand the skills and experiences required for positions, while breaking down barriers “that might have been used to eliminate opportunity for young adults to get careers or enter into careers,” Amann said.
It also will create opportunities for promotions that would have previously required a degree.
‘Biggest lies’
Mark Threeton, an education professor at Penn State, said the change could open up additional career paths for skilled workers.
“One of the biggest lies in America is that you have to go to college and be a college graduate to be successful when indeed we know that there are other ways to win. … I think there’s lots of worthy alternatives to success without going to college,” Threeton said.
To help high school students prepare for positions that require certain skills, school administrators need to focus on career connections by promoting apprenticeship programs and forming connections with career and technical schools, Threeton said.
Amann said the order raises the importance of work experience for high school students
Pennsylvania is the third state to remove degree requirements for many government jobs.
About 98% of state jobs in Utah no longer require a degree. In Maryland, about half of the 38,000 jobs can now be performed by a qualified candidate without a fouryear degree.
Audrey Mickahail, vice president of insight services at Opportunity@ Work, a Washington, D.C.based employment advocacy organization that has partnered with Maryland, said the state quickly implemented the changes, which included reworking job descriptions that had not been changed in years.
In doing that, state officials realized the “inescapable logic of removing degree requirements,” Mickahail said. “There’s something really appealing about creating an opportunity and creating a focus on a population that didn’t privilege one group over another but that was ... really something that frankly everyone could get behind, that was easy to understand.”
In Pennsylvania, the executive order went into effect immediately. State officials have redesigned the website employment.pa.gov. that features various state job openings and internships.
By February, there were more than 800 jobs open to the public posted on the site.
“We think this is definitely a step in the right direction,” Amann said.