President Trump signed an executive order on Friday to redirect federal employers to weigh applicants’ skills on college degrees.
“Today, I will sign an executive order directing the federal government to replace obsolete (title-based) hiring with skills-based hiring,” Trump said Friday during a meeting with the American Labor Policy Advisory Board. “The federal government will no longer focus narrowly on where he went to school, but on the skills and talents he brings to the job.”
Trump added that his administration had long valued merit.
Adviser to President Ivanka Trump, who co-chairs the board, said the order will allow the government “to better recognize the talents and competencies of all Americans” it hires.
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The daughter of the president, adviser, and co-chair of the United States Workforce Policy Advisory Board, Ivanka Trump recommended that the federal government, which employs more than 2 million civilian workers, rewrite who they hire.
“President Trump built the most inclusive economy once and he will do it again,” Ivanka Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday.
The White House doesn’t necessarily remove title requirements, but rather encourages skill sets to be prioritized for jobs, making a title less important.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the other co-chair of the board, said the need for apprenticeships and vocational training was much needed before the coronavirus pandemic that has now left millions of Americans out of work.
The Office of Personnel Management will be responsible for executing the new directive in an attempt to get more Americans back into the workforce quickly.
Private companies are encouraged to follow this new protocol, and companies like IBM have already implemented initiatives like this, reportedly last year hired 15 percent of their workforce from non-traditional settings, hiring based on skills. instead of education level.
This strategy is expected to help employ people from disadvantaged areas who cannot necessarily afford a two or four year degree.
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The workforce advisory board is expected to announce details of a private sector ad campaign led by Apple, IBM, and the Nonprofit Advertising Council as a way to encourage alternative avenues in the workforce other than education.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
