More bad news for job seekers\u2014especially non-grad Gen Zers. Just because an employer claims it\u2019s ditching degree requirements to recruit more diverse talent, that doesn\u2019t mean its hiring managers are actually doing it.<\/p>\n
When major employers like Google<\/a>, Microsoft<\/a>, IBM<\/a>, and Apple<\/a> all eliminated their long-held degree requirements for jobs<\/a>, other firms rushed to follow their example. But that promise may be limited to their job ads.\u00a0<\/p>\n Goodwill\u2019s CEO Steve Preston told Fortune that while most CEOs have good intentions, they can\u2019t control every interview or job offer. And so the promise of skills-first hiring may not be reaching the millions of jobless Gen Zers <\/a>who need it.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, employers are consistently saying they want to hire for skills, not necessarily degrees,\u201d Preston said. \u201cBut the proof is in the pudding. Not everybody does it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I hear from a lot of people is, yeah, the top says we need to do this, but when it gets to the hiring professionals, it doesn\u2019t always trickle down.\u201d<\/p>\n The charity, has over 650 job centers and saw over 2 million people use its employment services last year\u2014and Preston said that he\u2019s preparing for an influx of jobless Gen Zers thanks to automation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gen Zers without degrees are struggling most with unemployment<\/p>\n While the opportunities for young people without degrees are certainly growing, Preston says they\u2019re ultimately still more likely to face unemployment than Gen Zers with degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m seeing is, of the overall unemployment, people without college degrees have no jobs,\u201d the 65-year-old CEO, who formerly served as the 14th United States secretary of housing and urban development, revealed. Research has shown<\/a> that the issue is even more acute for young men.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s much harder to find a job,\u201d Preston added. \u201cIt\u2019s really hitting college students right now in the marketplace. It\u2019s really hitting young adults without college degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n So why are hiring managers still shutting the door on people who didn\u2019t go down the higher education path, despite such a clear push to do the opposite?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think when somebody comes out with a four year degree from college, there\u2019s a certain sense that that person has a foundation that will be valuable in the workplace, and there\u2019s a suspicion that if somebody hasn\u2019t done that, they may be lacking some core skills,\u201d Preston said, while pointing to critical thinking, team building and communications as potential skills built from school projects and essays.<\/p>\n \u201cSo somebody with a strong collegiate background provides a high degree of comfort that these other capabilities are in place,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also just easy to interview people who are like you, if you went to college, if you\u2019ve gone down a particular pathway, you speak the same language, you have many of the same experiences. It\u2019s much easier to connect with somebody who\u2019s like you.\u201d<\/p>\n For young people without degrees, Preston argued the key is proving you\u2019ve built those prized skills elsewhere\u2014whether that\u2019s through upskilling, volunteering, or work experience. Even joining a sports team<\/a> can help open doors because it teaches you confidence, teamwork, discipline, and more. \u201cEmployers have to be able to see that many of those capabilities are acquired in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n For closed-minded employers, Preston stressed that the research is clear: Inclusive hiring isn\u2019t just the right thing to do, it\u2019s also good for business.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOrganizations that have a much broader aperture in looking for talent are more likely to have, the roles in their organizations filled; they\u2019re much less likely to say that they\u2019ve got deficiencies in their team; they\u2019re more likely to say they\u2019ve got a healthy workplace; and they often find higher engagement scores among their teams because of the culture that they\u2019ve created,\u201d he added. \u201cHonestly, I think that\u2019s important for society as well, on many levels.\u201d\n<\/p>\n