Should Government Employees Be Hired Based on Skills? Or Degrees?

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2017, file photo a recruiter from the postal service, right, speaks with an attendee of a job fair in the cafeteria of Deer Lakes High School in Cheswick, Pennsylvania.

Many college graduates aspire to work in government because of the stability, benefits and sense of purpose. But at least six states have tried to reduce the importance of a college degree in getting a job, arguing that the requirements are a burden on poorer applicants and result in turning away many gifted ones – all amidst a labor shortage. New Jersey, one of the wealthiest and most populous states, is just the latest.

Read the story from Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech for The Hill. (April 2023)