A college degree will no longer give Americans a leg up when seeking some jobs with the federal government.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order onFriday that will overhaul the government’s hiring practices so that a job
applicant’s skills will be given priority over a college degree.Administration officials say the shift will allow thegovernment to hire a more inclusive workforce based on skill instead of aperson’s education level.
“This will ensure that we’re able to hire based on talent andexpand our universe to qualified candidates and ensure a more equitable hiringprocess,” Ivanka Trump, thepresident’s daughter and senior advisor, told reporters on Friday.
Ivanka Trump is co-chair of the American Workforce PolicyAdvisory Board, which was created in 2018 and tasked with recommending ways toimprove job training. The president signed the order during the board’s meetingon Friday.
“The federal government will no longer be narrowly focused onwhere you went to school, but the skills and talents that you bring to thejob,” Trump said.
The federal government is the nation’s largest employer with2.1 million civilian workers.
Ivanka Trump said the new hiring practice will show that thegovernment is leading by example as it tries to recruit and retain the best andbrightest workers. She and other administration officials have pushed toincrease opportunities for apprenticeships and have promoted such training andvocational education as alternatives to traditional two-year or four-yearcollege degree programs.
The shift in hiring protocols will recognize the value oflearning regardless of whether it occurs on the job or in the classroom, saidBrooke Rollins, acting director of the White House Domestic Policy Council,
which oversees the president’s domestic agenda.