编者按:在美国,是否拥有一个大学文凭正日益成为公司招聘员工的一个隐形门槛。随着海外雇主对员工教育背景的要求越来越高,如何结合自己的专业背景提高自身的竞争力,这是每一个有意于在国外工作的学生都当深思的一个问题。
Many employers are now skimming right past those who have only completed a high school education in favor of candidates who’ve walked the hallowed halls of higher education institutions.
“Oh, sure, for high-skill positions? That makes sense,” you might be thinking. Actually, no — employers are actively seeking out college grads not only for high skill positions, but also for lower-skill jobs and entry-level positions, in industries as diverse as manufacturing and IT.
Suddenly, college seems like more of a necessity than ever.
Nearly a third (32 percent) of hiring managers and HR professionals said they’re hiring more employees with college degrees for positions historically held by high school graduates, according to a new survey by CareerBuilder and Harris Interactive© among 2,611 hiring managers and HR professionals. While we’re seeing this trend most frequently among financial services organizations, it spans across many industries, including:
Financial Services – 53 percent
Health Care – 40 percent
Manufacturing – 38 percent
Transportation & Utilities – 37 percent
Information Technology – 33 percent
Professional & Business Services – 31 percent
Retail – 28 percent
Hospitality – 20 percent
Education requirements are getting more strict
Specific qualifications for jobs are also becoming more demanding. Nearly 1 in 5 employers (18 percent) said they’ve increased their educational requirements for jobs over the last five years. Manufacturing and information technology firms — at 30 percent and 27 percent respectively — were the most likely to report this.
More than half of employers (54 percent) reported that they require an associate’s degree or higher for their positions; 44 percent require a four-year degree or higher.
Getting ahead
The lack of a college education may not only be an obstacle for candidates seeking a job, but also for employees trying to get ahead at their place of employment. Our survey found that not having a college degree may limit upward mobility: 37 percent of employers said they are unlikely to promote someone without a college degree.
As the bar’s being raised when it comes to education requirements in the workforce, are employers seeing a difference in their results?
The positive effects of college-level labor
Most employers who have hired more workers with college degrees for jobs historically held by high school graduates reported positive effects on their business effects, like:
Higher quality of work – 64 percent
Productivity – 45 percent
Revenue – 22 percent
Customer Loyalty – 18 percent
Of course, they’re probably not hiring employees like this.