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posted by on Monday April 10 2017, @04:01PM   Printer-friendly
from the talent-contest dept.

Silicon Valley is starting to realize that the huge talent pool of nontraditional candidates may be the answer to its pipeline problem.

The technology industry is now trying to figure out a way to attack its cultural and demographic homogeneity issues. One simple initiative is to begin to recruit talent from people outside of its preferred networks. One way is to extend their recruiting efforts to people who don't have four-year degrees.

IBM's head of talent organization, Sam Ladah, calls this sort of initiative a focus on "new-collar jobs." The idea, he says, is to look toward different applicant pools to find new talent. "We consider them based on their skills," he says, and don't take into account their educational background. This includes applicants who didn't get a four-year degree but have proven their technical knowledge in other ways. Some have technical certifications, and others have enrolled in other skills programs. "We've been very successful in hiring from [coding] bootcamps," says Ladah.

For IT roles, educational pedigree often doesn't make a huge difference. For instance, many gaming aficionados have built their own systems. With this technical grounding, they would likely have the aptitude to be a server technician or a network technician. These roles require specific technical knowledge, not necessarily an academic curriculum vitae. "We're looking for people who have a real passion for technology," says Ladah. He goes on to say that currently about 10% to 15% of IBM's new hires don't have traditional four-year degrees.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3069259/why-more-tech-companies-are-hiring-people-without-degrees

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 11 2017, @12:49AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 11 2017, @12:49AM (#492039)

    For the good of society we still need to have a broad education, and I think K-12 does a modest job of this.

    No, it does an abysmal job of this, since it's mainly focused on rote memorization.

    And you don't need schooling to attain a broad education. Self-education and homeschooling are more possible than ever.