If you have a kid that thinks a college degree isn’t that important, you may want them to listen up. A new survey finds that more and more employers are raising the educational level requirement for jobs, and gigs that once went to folks with high school diplomas are now requiring more education.
The CareerBuilder survey finds that 38% of employers have upped educational requirements for jobs over the last year and 41% of employers are looking for college-educated workers to fill jobs that were once held by those with high school degrees. And in some cases a four-year degree isn’t even enough, with 33% of employers hiring workers with master’s degrees for jobs that were once held by those with just a four-year degree.
So, why the change? Well, 61% of hiring managers say they are requiring college degrees because the skills for their positions have evolved, while 56% say it’s simply because they can get college-educated workers because of the tight job market.
And as you can imagine, employers say having higher-educated workers in certain positions comes with some major benefits. Among them:
Higher quality work: 61%Productivity: 51%Communication: 45%Innovation/idea generation: 41%Employee retention: 33%Revenue: 26%Customer loyalty: 24%