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A (work)force to be reckoned with.

STARs: Skilled Through Alternative Routes.

STARs are half the workforce

STARs are workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes, rather than through a bachelor’s degree.

They’re the 50% of the workforce that has developed valuable skills through military service, community college, training programs, partial college completion, or, most commonly, on-the-job experience.

At 70 million strong, STARs are a massive pool of skilled talent, larger than the populations of California and Texas…combined.

STARs are all around us.

Chances are you know more STARs than you may realize. STARs include people of all ages and at all life stages, from twenty-somethings just starting their career to workers with decades of on-the-job experience.

They can be found in every sector of the workforce, from retail, travel, and hospitality to health care, information technology, manufacturing, and more.

STARs also reflect our nation’s racial and cultural diversity:

61%

of Black workers

55%

of Latinx workers

50%

of white workers

66%

of rural Americans

61%

of Veterans

Skilled for Higher-wage Work

Far too many employers assume that low wage means low skill, and that a bachelor’s degree is the only way to build job-relevant skills.

However, Opportunity@Work analyzed the skills content for nearly 900 U.S. occupations and found that the skills required for low-wage jobs often overlap with those needed for higher-wage jobs. In fact, millions of STARs have demonstrated skills for roles with at least 50% higher salaries than their current jobs.

Hitting the Paper Ceiling

Despite STARs demonstrating skills for higher-wage work, research by Opportunity@Work and others has shown that the paper ceiling has severely impacted STARs’ economic mobility.

Over the last 30 years, the wage gap between STARs and workers with bachelor’s degrees has doubled. Adjusted for inflation, STARs now actually earn less on average than they did in 1976. According to a 2022 study by Opportunity@Work, it takes more than 30 years on the job for STARs to earn the same wage that college graduates earn on day one of their careers.

See the world beyond the paper ceiling

Whether you’re a STAR, an employer, a workforce advocate, or anyone seeking to create a more equitable future, you can help tear the paper ceiling and see the world beyond it.

Resources to Tear the Paper Ceiling

Filter By

Bridging the Advancement Gap

One of the largest national studies on frontline worker upward mobility.

Cara Collective and McKinsey & Company

Research Report

Bridging the Advancement Gap

Bridging the Advancement Gap

DEI Journeys

Playbook of DEI hiring practices with case studies.

LinkedIn

Playbooks

DEI Journeys

DEI Journeys

The American Opportunity Index

Tools that measure how well major employers are doing in fostering economic mobility for workers.

Burning Glass Institute

Tools

The American Opportunity Index

The American Opportunity Index

The value of experience

This report shows that work experience contributes 40 to 60% of a worker’s human capital.

McKinsey & Company

Research Report

The value of experience

The value of experience

Equity & Career Advancement: Insights from Underrepresented Employees

Employers can build workforce equity by learning about the career barriers diverse talent face and taking action to support them.

Grads of Life

Research Report

Equity & Career Advancement: Insights from Underrepresented Employees

Equity & Career Advancement: Insights from Underrepresented Employees

Overcoming the fear factor in hiring

Experience and skill building can open up a much broader pool of candidates.

McKinsey & Company

Research Report

Overcoming the fear factor in hiring

Overcoming the fear factor in hiring

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