How to Hire a Generation Without College Degrees More high-schoolers are planning to enter the workforce without college diplomas. Here's how you can hire them and lay a pathway for their success.
By Jeff Mazur Edited by Chelsea Brown
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
College has been a defining experience for countless people, but it's one that many of today's teenagers would rather do without. Between February 2020 and January 2021, the number of high-schoolers considering a traditional higher education dropped by 25%, with more than half planning to enter the workforce without a degree.
Ignoring this generation without degrees will leave you scrambling for employees: Meta failed to meet its 2021 recruiting goals, a trend echoed throughout the tech industry as companies struggle with skill shortages. Hiring difficulties aren't letting up anytime soon, so companies will need to rethink their talent pipelines to create paths for these students to take on entry-level positions.
Related: Does That College Diploma Really Matter for Success?
It seems companies do understand that a college degree isn't a necessary indicator for long-term success. Recent research suggests that less than one-quarter of employers consider formal markers of education as very important factors when assessing candidates.
But hiring managers need to make that known to employees, as fewer than half of Americans actually believe employers are willing to hire skilled workers without degrees. It's time to pivot to new models that support the transition between secondary schooling and the professional world. In our experience, there are several strategies that companies can implement to source young talent for hard-to-fill roles:
1. Refine your assessment process
When we're matching an apprentice with a company, our first step is to ensure that the candidate is interested in the company and role. Applicants must demonstrate a willingness and hunger to learn, above all else. In fact, more than 9 in 10 talent acquisition professionals believe soft skills should take priority over hard skills during hiring, as these tend to be more critical to long-term success, according to the LinkedIn Global Talent Trends Report of 2021. Start focusing on those interpersonal skills like empathy instead of focusing only on traditional experience.
Related: College Degrees Have Value, But Experience Is Priceless
2. Build a community of apprentices
Success can also be seen when companies hire cohorts of apprentices rather than adding just one to their team. This creates a sub-community inside the larger company and allows apprentices, who might not have any other corporate experience to draw from, to lean on and support one another as they learn on the job and transition into permanent roles. Even in a remote-work environment, it's important to give employees space to bond. And if each apprentice also has a mentor, it will become much easier to integrate them into the existing culture.
3. Challenge new employees
Too often, new hires are treated like interns, performing tasks that have little to do with their job descriptions. While that might be standard procedure in some offices, these new hires have the same needs as those who come from more traditional backgrounds, though your approach to meeting them might differ slightly.
Randy Grieser, founder of ACHIEVE Centre for Leadership, highlights the benefits of growing through work opportunities in his book, The Ordinary Leader. He says, "For all of us, work in many ways is a classroom in which we should always be learning." Grieser said people find fulfillment through this growth because of our innate desire to change and better ourselves.
So, rather than leaving a new employee to push paper or throwing them into the proverbial fire, challenge them with projects that have clear deliverables and measures of success. Give them responsibility and purpose in their work from day one. Set realistic goals for them and make sure they receive constructive feedback, which is necessary for growth. Providing this purposeful structure will result in better outcomes for both you and the apprentice, McKinsey research has found.
Related: Yes, You Should Invest In Upskilling Your Changing Workforce. Here's Why.
4. Have a conversion plan
If you've hired someone without a college degree as an intern, apprentice or part-timer, develop a road map so they can see a clear path to a full-time role. This plan will also ensure that they aren't caught off guard as the bar for expectations and benchmarks rises. This could be after 60 or 90 days, though some might take weeks or even months longer.
At LaunchCode, we encourage an apprenticeship-to-hire model, pairing new hires with senior employees who can teach them the "unwritten rules" of the office, help them set professional goals and make sure their initial dip into the corporate world is a positive one. When the right expectations are set, you improve the odds of an apprentice ultimately becoming a productive and valuable permanent member of the team.
5. Partner with skilling organizations
If undertaking training or creating an apprenticeship model from scratch seems overwhelming, pass the buck. There's nothing wrong with prioritizing how you can best help your company and seeking out qualified partners to handle what they do best. Utilizing skilling organizations can bring a huge pool of fresh talent to your company without having to invest in scaling your training abilities. It also means the people you bring on will be supported from both within and without by your employees and outside mentors.
For some companies, hiring employees straight out of high school might feel like foreign territory, and creating and implementing new strategies to make sure they're supported and have a pathway to success is no small task. But the gains from investing in an untapped labor pool will ensure the future of your company is in good hands.
