A nationwide campaign is gaining attention from employers and public leaders across the country to level the workforce playing field for skilled workers without an academic degree.
The Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign is a joint effort from nonprofits Opportunity@Work and the Ad Council, which launched the initiative in 2022 to bring awareness to the talent that is often overlooked.
“This campaign is part of the mission of Opportunity@Work where our main focus is on STARS – workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes,” said Rauly Ramirez, Senior Manager of Marketing Development. “We want to arm the field with the tools for employers to change their hiring practices and work with the folks who have the industry-relevant training.”
According to the campaign, 70% of new jobs require a bachelor’s degree, but only 50% of America’s workforce has one. The nonprofit’s work seeks to highlight the skills that potential employees have attained from experiences, including military service, college credits, certification programs, previous employment and others.
Nicholas Olmo, Director of the STARS Innovation Lab at Opportunity@Work, said the organization identified three key segments in which they work to break down the invisible barriers to employment for the more than 70 million STARS who can add value to the workforce across all industries.
“We place a focus on the policy and public sector, working with federal and state governments to create change. We also work with the private sector, influencing enterprising-level employers like Walmart and Google to move the needle in that area. And finally, we work with the nonprofit sector forming strategic, philanthropic partners for the work that we do.”
In the public sector, the nonprofit tracks legislative momentum and works with states to pledge to do more in support of STARS. As part of the campaign, Jalencia Wade, Policy Analyst for Opportunity@Work, said 26 states have advanced movement toward equalizing opportunities for workers with and without an academic degree.
“We have been partnering with the National Governors Association in skills-driven states to encourage a shift to skills-based hiring. We learn what they are doing on the ground to find opportunities for STARS in work-based learning programs,” said Wade. “Indiana is part of that. In our analysis there, half of Indiana’s workforce is STARS.”
The public sector in Indiana is responding. In early 2025, Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order that instructs state agencies to review current and future state job postings, determine if a postsecondary degree is needed, and remove the requirement if possible. The move is to encourage hiring managers in the largest employer in the state to evaluate skills-based candidates. In the order, Braun said the move addresses labor shortages and contributes to the state’s economic growth.
Officials from the nonprofit note that the campaign does not seek to minimize the importance of a four-year college education. It does, however, aim to support those who may not see a bachelor’s degree or higher as the right fit for them.
“Four-year degrees are a great way to build skills. But that shouldn’t be the only way to get into good jobs. This campaign isn’t about education as a bad thing, but the over-reliance on it hurts employers because they are missing out on so much talent,” said Henry Bartholomay, Senior Manager of Policy Partnerships for Opportunity@Work. “This is about equality of opportunity. It’s about making sure a resume isn’t being tossed out of the pile on the first pass because it doesn’t list a degree. This is a system change for employment.”
Bartholomay noted that work-based skills can be developed across all industries, and biases about specific industries should be eliminated. Each field has different paths for evaluating talent, but the lack of a degree shouldn’t overshadow the experience that qualifies an employee for a job.
“And the campaign doesn’t consider just the jobs that are being discussed now, but we are also thinking about the jobs in the next five or 10 years,” Ramirez added. “Things like cybersecurity and green energy jobs will be needed. We are partnering with organizations now to create a pipeline for STARS to fill those roles in the future.”
Olmo said the campaign so far has garnered support from 75 organizations across the country. He said the nonprofit intends to continue the momentum of creating change in the employment landscape.
“We are leading in terms of data and thought leadership and connecting folks through our coalition,” he said. “We will continue to support our coalition partners any way we can and amplify the messages that skills-based talent benefits everyone.”
