Employers And Companies Are Suddenly Short Of Workers, Leading Them To Rethink Job Qualifications

A shortage of workers nationwide is pushing companies, employers, and even local and state governments to change their hiring operations to bring in more workers.

According to Finurah, calls have grown for employers and local governments to change their hiring qualifications to bring in more workers. Four states, including Washington, have recently waived bar exams to recruit more attorneys.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a debate about what requirements are needed to be qualified for a job and which can be cut as job openings across the country have hit historic highs. Additionally, inflation and supply chain issues have led to record high prices in everything from diapers to cars and homes.

The state of Maryland is dropping college degree requirements for thousands of jobs along with Apple, Costco, Whole Foods, and a host of other companies. Colleges are doing the same, eliminating entrance exams to recruit more students as many young Americans are giving up the dream of higher education to help their families and join the workforce.

While the unemployment rate rose to 15% during the height of the pandemic, workers across the country saw a revolution as wages increased across industries for the first time in years, and companies were forced to increase benefits to attract workers, including health benefits, sign-on bonuses, and even paying for college tuition.

However, inflation began to rise significantly last fall, and the gains workers received were lost as everything from diapers to gas to homes has increased in recent months pushing the Biden administration to raise interest rates.

Some industries heavily impacted during the pandemic, including teachers and nurses, are now dealing with a mass exodus of employees. According to Bloomberg, despite states pouring billions in federal aid to hospitals, many are short of workers.

“We want to make sure that we prioritize talent over credentials in this moment,” Thomas Toch, director of FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, told Finurah. “There’s a lot of untapped talent out there.”