TOGETHER
WE’RE
TEARING
The goals of the Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign are to:
Hiring leaders are taking notice
94%
of employers say they'd hire candidates without bachelor’s degrees if their skills are evident.¹
72%
say the idea that you need a bachelor’s degree to have job-ready skills is biased, unfair, or should change. ¹
77%
are considering STARs for more roles than they were 3–5 years ago. ¹
32%
have already changed degree requirements on at least one job description. ¹
47,000+
PLEDGES
SIGNED
People across the country, from every industry, with diverse paths for building skills, are signing up to tear the paper ceiling for STARs and see the world beyond.
SIGN YOUR NAME TO THE PLEDGE
More than 1,000,000 jobs committed to be opened to STARs.
33 States
The public sector has aggressively led the shift to skills-first talent practices, championing economic opportunity for government workers and for their constituents. Since 2020, the federal government and more than half of U.S. states have pledged to open jobs to STARs through legislation or executive action.
Coalition Partners
Brought together by the shared belief that "if you can do the job, you can get the job," Opportunity@Work leads an ever-expanding group of forward-thinking businesses, philanthropies, and workforce organizations to publicly voice support for STARs and amplify successful skills-first talent practices.
Help us spread the word about STARs
Your donation directly fuels the Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign, amplifying the voices and stories of STARs across the country and helping to raise awareness of skills-first hiring practices.
Start Tearing Here
Below are 3 resources to learn more about STARs and skills-first hiring. Scroll down for the full resource library.