In With the New Collar

New forms of work require a new type of worker

When the pace of technology – and the skills needed to run it smoothly – change so quickly, it’s time to reimagine the workforce powering such innovations. The once-clear line between white-collar and blue-collar work has blurred. In view of this, organizations that depend on digital need to alter their hiring practices and recruit for these new-collar jobs. The term, coined by former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, aims to emphasize skills and continuous training over four-year college degrees.

Skills First

When job postings require a four-year degree, they right off the bat eliminate a large portion of the talent pool. While a degree can certainly indicate a level of specialized training and critical thinking skills, there can be many reasons a candidate doesn’t have one. They might have all the same skills as a college graduate but not the finances to go. And given how quickly technology changes, even a recent college graduate might not have learned the skills a job requires. A few years ago, almost no job listings mentioned AI. Now, generative AI skills are in high demand and lucrative.

Asking how we give people access to our companies, that is the wrong question. The real question is, ‘How can we equip ourselves to access this talent?’” Greg Case, CEO of Aon, said to Harvard Business Review. “Frontline leaders who recognize that there is a source of talent they have not had access to are the engine. The CEO push and the HR push are important, but it’s the managers who are going to create sustainability when they see that they can bring this talent in and do great work.”

During Rometty’s tenure at IBM, the company adopted a SkillsFirst initiative that overhauled hiring practices and rewrote job descriptions to highlight abilities over formal education. IBM also partnered with Pathways in Technology Early College High School to create internships for students taking STEM classes and working toward associate’s degrees with an aim toward permanent hires after graduation. The company also worked with the Department of Labor to create apprenticeship programs for modern IT jobs. Technical programs, software bootcamps, and certification boot camps can help those without four-year degrees build the technical skills necessary in these new-collar jobs.

“Realizing the full potential of new-collar jobs requires concerted efforts in education, training, and policy,” United Nations AI advisor Neil Sahota wrote in Forbes. “Ensuring that these opportunities are inclusive and accessible is crucial for building a workforce that is prepared for the future. As we navigate this transition, the focus should be on creating a dynamic and adaptable workforce, equipped with both the technical and soft skills needed to thrive in the AI-driven world.”

Suitable Positions

The types of careers well-suited to new-collar jobs require digital skills as well as soft skills that a four-year degree might not teach. Fields such as healthcare, data science, robotics maintenance, and fintech demand the sort of versatility and upskilling new-collar workers can bring.

To build a pool of such workers, several companies have followed IBM’s lead in partnering with educational institutions on training programs. Aon’s partnership with City Colleges of Chicago has created apprenticeships that led to permanent jobs with high employee retention rates. Workers have come up with the company believing in them and want to stay. Delta Airlines has seen similar results with its data analytics partnership with Georgia State University and its Propel pilot training program. Bank of America’s Academy trains tens of thousands of people each year, resulting in more than half of open positions at the firm being filled by internal hires.

Cleveland Clinic worked with talent strategy consultants Grads of Life to revise the requirements for job listings representing more than 20,000 positions. For hires without prior hospital experience but with other desired skills, the clinic provides on-the-job upskilling.

The skills-first approach to new-collar jobs, CEO Tomislav Mihaljevic told HBR “cannot be ‘mandated’ in the classical sense of the word. It has to be explained. Ultimately, the only way for culture to stick and for these changes to become permanent is if they get embraced by the entire organization, not just a chosen few.”

With the inclusion of previously overlooked skilled workers, these new-collar jobs represent a fundamental shift in the makeup of the workforce to keep up with the new demands of work.