Opportunities For Non-Degree Workers Are Dwindling

According to the American Opportunity Index, there’s a decrease in workers without a college degree.

The study, using data from the top 395 companies in America. excludes career paths that require degrees for entry. The goal, according to Rajiv Chandrasekaran, managing director at the Schultz Family Foundation, is to investigate spaces that do not have a barrier to entry and the trajectory of its workers.

Using five data points—hiring, pay, promotion, parity, and culture—the American Opportunity Index found that the amount of opportunity for employees with less education is not showing growth.

“One-hundred-and-seventy-four companies decreased hiring employees without college degrees or who lacked meaningful work experience compared to last year. Only two firms in the top 100 saw increased scores for hiring compared to last year.”

The report projects that the graduation rates of Black Americans will increase only slightly over the next 30 years.

“The Black or African American population remained a relatively constant share of the total between 2002 and 2022 and increased slightly from 12.3 percent to 12.5 percent.”

This presents a significant problem for Black employees, specifically. The American Council on Education (ACE) found that Black people’s enrollment in higher education has decreased steadily since 2002. The Black population has “the largest decline out of all races: 66.1 percent to 55.4 percent.”

If promotions in companies are contingent upon higher education, Black people will unfortunately be left behind. Like any other report, the ACE organization’s projections are not concrete, and there is room for change.

Joe Fuller, a professor at Harvard Business School said companies play a huge role in whether or not American workers have access to higher positions within their companies.

“Opportunity doesn’t rest in specific industries or locations,” Fuller said in a statement. “It’s a function of companies making choices that advance the interest of their workers and implementing them.”

The American Opportunity Index has been evaluating the economic growth of the country for the last three years. The think tank is comprised of the Burning Glass Institute, the Schultz Family Foundation, and Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project.

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