Skills-First Hiring FAQ
What is the Skills-First Hiring - Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign?
The Skills-First Hiring campaign, created by Opportunity@Work and the Ad Council, raises awareness of the "paper ceiling" – the invisible barrier that comes at every turn for workers without a bachelor's degree. This barrier blocks over 70 million STARs—workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes—from access to higher-wage jobs, and it holds employers back from finding skilled, qualified candidates.
The campaign drives to TearThePaperCeiling.org, where audiences can find information on STARs and the benefits of skills-first hiring.
Who are STARs?
In the U.S., there are over 70 million STARs, workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes rather than a bachelor’s degree. STARs have historically been defined by the degree they lack, rather than the skills they have. STARs have gained valuable skills through alternative routes like military service, certification programs, on-the-job training, and more.
What is the “paper ceiling”?
The paper ceiling is the invisible barrier that comes at every turn for workers without a bachelor's degree. The lack of alumni networks, biased algorithms, degree screens, misperceptions, and more contribute to the paper ceiling, creating barriers to upward economic mobility for STARs, even though they have demonstrated skills for higher-wage work. By giving the paper ceiling a name, we can acknowledge a previously invisible institutional obstacle to better hiring practices.
How do I get copies and access the public service announcements?
All PSAs are available for preview and can be accessed by media supporters on our site.
To download our PSAs, you will be required to sign up for assets here and create a new username and password. You can browse and preview our PSAs by using our enhanced search functionality, including faceted search with new filter options. You can search by "Campaign", "Asset" and/or "Media Type." You can also use the advanced search or keyword search for more options. Once you find the PSAs you are interested in and you are ready to download you will be required to sign in using your username and password.
AdCouncil.org Features Include:
- TV, Radio, Online/Mobile, Print & Out Of Home formats available - including broadcast quality HD + SD TV spots
- Enhanced search functionality, including faceted search with new filter options
- Cart feature with options to download PSAs from cart, email PSAs from cart, or save PSAs to your FTP server
Once you access these files, you can use them for educational purposes or in donated media space and time. We would appreciate your help in encouraging media stations or websites to donate space for these ads. To help you with that process, we have some support materials available in the Media Outreach section. Please note: expired PSAs are NOT available for broadcast.
Who is the target audience?
Employers (including anyone who plays a role in the hiring process) and STARs, workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes rather than a bachelor's degree.
What are the skills-first hiring campaign objectives and what is the main message?
The campaign aims to empower employers to unlock STARs as a qualified talent pool and prioritize skills-first hiring. We want to shift the mindset from relying on bachelor’s degrees as a proxy for skills to one of hiring candidates who have the skill for the job, regardless of where they learned or acquired those skills.
The campaign also encourages STARs to recognize that they are qualified, skilled workers.
Why is the skills-first hiring campaign important?
America has a labor supply and demand mismatch: employers are struggling to find qualified workers, yet millions of candidates are automatically filtered out just because they don’t have a bachelor’s degree.
Skills-first hiring solves two problems at once: it provides employers with high-quality, proven talent, and it provides upward economic mobility for STARs, workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes rather than a bachelor's degree.