長期以來,四年制學士學位一直是攀登美國企業(yè)階梯的第一步。
但是,優(yōu)先考慮技能而不是大學教育的做法正在席卷美國大公司,包括谷歌(Google)、安永(EY)、微軟(Microsoft)和蘋果(Apple)。擁躉者表示,這種轉(zhuǎn)變有助于規(guī)避不必要的障礙,實現(xiàn)工作場所多樣化。
IBM的前首席執(zhí)行官羅睿蘭(Ginni Rometty)于今年9月在《財富》雜志高管教育社區(qū)Connect的一個小組討論會上對《財富》雜志的首席執(zhí)行官穆瑞瀾(Alan Murray)說:“我真的相信,一支具有包容性的多元化員工隊伍對公司更有利,對業(yè)務更有利。這不僅僅是利他主義。”
2016年,在羅睿蘭的領導下,科技巨頭IBM創(chuàng)造了“新領工作”一詞,指的是那些需要特定技能而不是四年制學位的工作。這是羅睿蘭的個人承諾,對這位在IBM工作了40年的老員工來說,這也觸及了她的痛處。
在羅睿蘭16歲的時候,她的父親離開了家庭,留下了從未外出工作過的母親,突然間她被迫承擔起養(yǎng)家糊口的責任。
羅睿蘭對穆瑞瀾回憶道:“她有四個孩子,只有高中學歷,她必須找一份工作……讓我們擺脫這種惡性循環(huán)。我發(fā)現(xiàn)我母親是有能力的;她并不笨,只是沒有機會,這永遠留在了我的腦海里。”
2012年經(jīng)濟大蕭條(Great Recession)后,羅睿蘭出任首席執(zhí)行官時,美國的失業(yè)率在8%左右徘徊。盡管有大量的應聘者涌入,但她卻很難找到在她所尋找的特定網(wǎng)絡安全領域受過培訓的員工。
她表示:“我意識到我不能雇傭他們,所以我必須開始培養(yǎng)他們。”
孩子們“可以勝任這項工作”
2011年,IBM在布魯克林啟動了一項企業(yè)社會責任項目,稱為“大學預科教育職業(yè)技術之路”(Pathways In Technology Early College High School)。此后,該項目已經(jīng)擴展到28個國家和美國的11個州。
通過“大學預科教育職業(yè)技術之路”項目,羅睿蘭訪問了“一所位于不良社區(qū)的非常貧窮的高中”,這所高中得到了IBM的支持。此外,她還訪問了一所社區(qū)大學,IBM為這所社區(qū)大學提供了技術課程和實習方面的幫助。
“瞧!這些孩子可以勝任這項工作。我這邊沒有(擁有)大學學位的應聘者,所以我認識到,學習的傾向比擁有學位更重要。”羅睿蘭說。
當羅睿蘭意識到這些學生完全有能力完成IBM的任務時,她決定從頭開始梳理IBM的招聘流程和招聘面向人群。她指出,當時IBM的95%的職位空缺需要應聘者擁有四年制學位。截至2021年1月,只有不到一半的員工擁有四年制學位,該公司正在不斷重新評估自己的角色。
羅睿蘭告訴穆瑞瀾,對于那些現(xiàn)在不再需要學位、而是依賴技能和學習意愿的工作,IBM一直聘用來自頂級常春藤盟校(Ivy League)的博士。但數(shù)據(jù)顯示,在同樣的工作崗位上,沒有學歷的員工表現(xiàn)同樣出色。她說:“他們更忠誠,留任率更高,許多人繼續(xù)獲得了大學學位。”
此后,羅睿蘭就任OneTen的聯(lián)合主席。OneTen是一個民間組織,致力于在未來十年內(nèi)招聘和提拔100萬沒有四年制學位的黑人。
弗吉尼亞大學達頓商學院(University of Virginia Darden School of Business)的教授肖恩·馬丁在去年對《財富》雜志表示,如果大學學位不再是白領工作的必要條件,那么許多其他資格——那些在訓練營、學徒計劃或者入職第一個月不容易傳授的技能——也會消失。
馬丁稱:“研究表明,這些公司會錯過一些求職者,這些人可能不那么有資格,那么有文化修養(yǎng),但卻更渴望在那里工作。”他補充道,招聘經(jīng)理應該尋找的是動機,而不是出身。
IBM的情況就是如此。羅睿蘭說,一旦公司擴大了招聘范圍,快速學習的傾向就成為比學位更重要的招聘因素。
譯者:中慧言-王芳
長期以來,四年制學士學位一直是攀登美國企業(yè)階梯的第一步。
但是,優(yōu)先考慮技能而不是大學教育的做法正在席卷美國大公司,包括谷歌(Google)、安永(EY)、微軟(Microsoft)和蘋果(Apple)。擁躉者表示,這種轉(zhuǎn)變有助于規(guī)避不必要的障礙,實現(xiàn)工作場所多樣化。
IBM的前首席執(zhí)行官羅睿蘭(Ginni Rometty)于今年9月在《財富》雜志高管教育社區(qū)Connect的一個小組討論會上對《財富》雜志的首席執(zhí)行官穆瑞瀾(Alan Murray)說:“我真的相信,一支具有包容性的多元化員工隊伍對公司更有利,對業(yè)務更有利。這不僅僅是利他主義。”
2016年,在羅睿蘭的領導下,科技巨頭IBM創(chuàng)造了“新領工作”一詞,指的是那些需要特定技能而不是四年制學位的工作。這是羅睿蘭的個人承諾,對這位在IBM工作了40年的老員工來說,這也觸及了她的痛處。
在羅睿蘭16歲的時候,她的父親離開了家庭,留下了從未外出工作過的母親,突然間她被迫承擔起養(yǎng)家糊口的責任。
羅睿蘭對穆瑞瀾回憶道:“她有四個孩子,只有高中學歷,她必須找一份工作……讓我們擺脫這種惡性循環(huán)。我發(fā)現(xiàn)我母親是有能力的;她并不笨,只是沒有機會,這永遠留在了我的腦海里。”
2012年經(jīng)濟大蕭條(Great Recession)后,羅睿蘭出任首席執(zhí)行官時,美國的失業(yè)率在8%左右徘徊。盡管有大量的應聘者涌入,但她卻很難找到在她所尋找的特定網(wǎng)絡安全領域受過培訓的員工。
她表示:“我意識到我不能雇傭他們,所以我必須開始培養(yǎng)他們。”
孩子們“可以勝任這項工作”
2011年,IBM在布魯克林啟動了一項企業(yè)社會責任項目,稱為“大學預科教育職業(yè)技術之路”(Pathways In Technology Early College High School)。此后,該項目已經(jīng)擴展到28個國家和美國的11個州。
通過“大學預科教育職業(yè)技術之路”項目,羅睿蘭訪問了“一所位于不良社區(qū)的非常貧窮的高中”,這所高中得到了IBM的支持。此外,她還訪問了一所社區(qū)大學,IBM為這所社區(qū)大學提供了技術課程和實習方面的幫助。
“瞧!這些孩子可以勝任這項工作。我這邊沒有(擁有)大學學位的應聘者,所以我認識到,學習的傾向比擁有學位更重要。”羅睿蘭說。
當羅睿蘭意識到這些學生完全有能力完成IBM的任務時,她決定從頭開始梳理IBM的招聘流程和招聘面向人群。她指出,當時IBM的95%的職位空缺需要應聘者擁有四年制學位。截至2021年1月,只有不到一半的員工擁有四年制學位,該公司正在不斷重新評估自己的角色。
羅睿蘭告訴穆瑞瀾,對于那些現(xiàn)在不再需要學位、而是依賴技能和學習意愿的工作,IBM一直聘用來自頂級常春藤盟校(Ivy League)的博士。但數(shù)據(jù)顯示,在同樣的工作崗位上,沒有學歷的員工表現(xiàn)同樣出色。她說:“他們更忠誠,留任率更高,許多人繼續(xù)獲得了大學學位。”
此后,羅睿蘭就任OneTen的聯(lián)合主席。OneTen是一個民間組織,致力于在未來十年內(nèi)招聘和提拔100萬沒有四年制學位的黑人。
弗吉尼亞大學達頓商學院(University of Virginia Darden School of Business)的教授肖恩·馬丁在去年對《財富》雜志表示,如果大學學位不再是白領工作的必要條件,那么許多其他資格——那些在訓練營、學徒計劃或者入職第一個月不容易傳授的技能——也會消失。
馬丁稱:“研究表明,這些公司會錯過一些求職者,這些人可能不那么有資格,那么有文化修養(yǎng),但卻更渴望在那里工作。”他補充道,招聘經(jīng)理應該尋找的是動機,而不是出身。
IBM的情況就是如此。羅睿蘭說,一旦公司擴大了招聘范圍,快速學習的傾向就成為比學位更重要的招聘因素。
譯者:中慧言-王芳
A four-year bachelor’s degree has long been the first rung to climbing America’s corporate ladder.
But the move to prioritize skills over a college education is sweeping through some of America’s largest companies, including Google, EY, Microsoft, and Apple. Strong proponents say the shift helps circumvent a needless barrier to workplace diversity.
“I really do believe an inclusive diverse workforce is better for your company, it’s good for the business,” Ginni Rometty, former IBM CEO, told Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray during a panel in September for Connect, Fortune’s executive education community. “That’s not just altruistic.”
Under Rometty’s leadership in 2016, tech giant IBM coined the term “new collar jobs” in reference to roles that require a specific set of skills rather than a four-year degree. It’s a personal commitment for Rometty, one that hits close to home for the 40-year IBM veteran.
When Rometty was 16, her father left the family, leaving her mother, who’d never worked outside the home, suddenly in the position to provide.
“She had four children and nothing past high school, and she had to get a job to…get us out of this downward spiral,” Rometty recalled to Murray. “What I saw in that was that my mother had aptitude; she wasn’t dumb, she just didn’t have access, and that forever stayed in my mind.”
When Rometty became CEO in 2012 following the Great Recession, the U.S. unemployment rate hovered around 8%. Despite the influx of applicants, she struggled to find employees who were trained in the particular cybersecurity area she was looking for.
“I realized I couldn’t hire them, so I had to start building them,” she said.
The kids “could do the work”
In 2011, IBM launched a corporate social responsibility effort called the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) in Brooklyn. It’s since expanded to 11 states in the U.S. and 28 countries.
Through P-TECH, Rometty visited “a very poor high school in a bad neighborhood” that received the company’s support, as well as a community college where IBM was offering help with a technology-based curriculum and internships.
“Voilà! These kids could do the work. I didn’t have [applicants with] college degrees, so I learned that propensity to learn is way more important than just having a degree,” Rometty said.
Realizing the students were fully capable of the tasks that IBM needed moved Rometty to return to the drawing board when it came to IBM’s own application process and whom it was reaching. She said that at the time, 95% of job openings at IBM required a four-year degree. As of January 2021, less than half do, and the company is continuously reevaluating its roles.
For the jobs that now no longer require degrees and instead rely on skills and willingness to learn, IBM had always hired Ph.D. holders from the very best Ivy League schools, Rometty told Murray. But data shows that the degree-less hires for the same jobs performed just as well. “They were more loyal, higher retention, and many went on to get college degrees,” she said.
Rometty has since become cochair of OneTen, a civic organization committed to hiring, promoting, and advancing 1 million Black individuals without four-year degrees within the next 10 years.
If college degrees no longer become compulsory for white-collar jobs, many other qualifications—skills that couldn’t be easily taught in a boot camp, apprenticeship program, or in the first month on the job—could die off, too, University of Virginia Darden School of Business professor Sean Martin told?Fortune last year.
“The companies themselves miss out on people that research suggests…might be less entitled, more culturally savvy, more desirous of being there,” Martin said. Rather than pedigree, he added, hiring managers should look for motivation.
That’s certainly the case at IBM. Once the company widened its scope, Rometty said, the propensity to learn quickly became more of an important hiring factor than just a degree.