Read the full opinion here.
Every Marylander and every American deserves the opportunity to succeed based on hard work and merit. However, this American dream has become further out of reach for far too many.
One reason is the creep of unnecessary college degree requirements in recent decades. At a time when college has become more and more unaffordable and inaccessible, these requirements have excluded roughly two-thirds of people from jobs they were otherwise qualified for, disproportionately harming people of color, rural people, and veterans. It’s time we tear down this paper ceiling, open these opportunities to millions of worthy people, and bring common sense back to our labor force.
In Maryland, we have already proven that this approach is a win-win for employers and workers. During my last year as governor, we launched a first-in-the-nation initiative to remove college degree requirements for thousands of state jobs. Instead, we recognized other kinds of qualifications that had been neglected under this outdated model, including military service, other relevant job experience and training, and community college education.
In the short term, during a nationwide labor shortage, this change quickly helped us fill vacant positions with qualified workers. In fact, we saw a 41% year-over-year increase in skills-based hires.
In the long run, countless lives will be changed for the better with opportunities to prove themselves at the workplace and launch successful careers that would not have been otherwise possible. That is why our initiative set off a nationwide movement following our lead. At least 19 other states have now adopted a similar approach. The private sector followed suit, and many of the nation’s largest employers have also eliminated unnecessary degree requirements and are shifting to a skills-based model for hiring.
However, if we want to transform the labor market truly, we need to start by getting the nation’s largest employer onboard: the federal government. Though an executive order in 2020 attempted to put forward this change, the actual implementation has been lacking. Congress must solidify these changes and show their importance by passing legislation eliminating unnecessary college degree requirements into law with real implementation measures. We need to make it a priority for agencies to update their hiring processes and hold them accountable to get it done.
We also need to expand this reform to the millions of federal contractors who increasingly represent more and more of the federal workforce. This is not just bad for our economy. It’s bad for our national security. For example, many veterans with invaluable experience protecting our nation’s cybersecurity in the military are not eligible to continue serving our country in federal contractor positions because they do not have college degrees.
With more than 140,000 Marylanders working for the federal government, this change will have a direct impact on opening opportunities for workers in our state. If our change in Maryland could set off changes across the country, just imagine the revolutionary impact of the federal government stepping up and leading by example.
One of the driving forces of polarization in America is the sense that working families are not being heard in Washington and have been too often left behind in our economy through no fault of their own. Instead of inflaming these divisions for political expediency for political reasons, we must find bipartisan, commonsense solutions to make real progress and bring people together. If I have the privilege of serving Maryland in the U.S. Senate, I will lead the charge to get this done.
Larry Hogan is the former governor of Maryland and a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
