The 62% Solution

Over 100 million Americans - 62% - pursue careers without having a college degree; for them, landing good-paying, stable jobs has become increasingly difficult. What's behind employers' increasing demand for a diploma, what are new alternative pathways for these workers to secure employment and how do we ensure that they have more opportunities for longer, successful career equality?

When exploring longer lives and longer careers, it can be easy to focus solely on white-collar careers and the benefits that come with those opportunities. Yet nearly 2/3 of Americans are seeking work without the credentials of a college degree – a career track that often translates to low pay, job instability and persistent inequality, a situation made worse with the pandemic. The majority of new jobs added to the American economy over the past two decades have required a degree: Is the knowledge acquired in college so critical or are employers taking a cheap, easy way to identify workplace skills that can be learned elsewhere? In this episode of Century Lives, we examine the forces that have created this environment, alternative pathways to a good job and how more people can access careers that will provide them security through later life. Guests are: Birkti Asmerom, Software Development Student at Year Up D.C.; Anthony Carnevale, Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce; Gerald Chertavian, Founder and CEO of Year Up; Nicole Escuadro, Director of Academics at Year Up D.C; and Derrick Ramsey, Former Secretary of Education and Workforce for the State of Kentucky.