New Jersey Institute of Technology, through its professional education and workforce development division the Learning and Development Initiative (LDI), announced its support of the growing national skills-first movement by joining the Tear the Paper Ceiling public awareness campaign led by the Ad Council and Opportunity@Work. Among other activities, the LDI will help build opportunities for STARs, create learning pathways for career mobility, and convene cross-sector collaborations that strengthen workforce development.
The affiliated Tear the Paper Ceiling Coalition calls on employers and decision makers to embrace skills-first hiring practices and unlock the potential of the more than 70 million workers in the U.S. who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) — such as apprenticeships, certifications, military service, on-the-job training and more.
STARs make up half the U.S. labor market, yet they face a “paper ceiling” — the invisible barrier of degree screens, biased algorithms, stereotypes and limited professional networks that block access to higher-wage jobs. Over the last 40 years, the wage gap between STARs and workers with bachelor’s degrees has doubled; when adjusted for inflation, STARs now earn less on average than they did in 1976. STARs’ exclusion hurts businesses by limiting their talent pool. Research from LinkedIn shows that hiring managers who start with skills are 60% more likely to find a successful hire.
NJIT’s participation builds on the university’s role as a public polytechnic institution committed to economic mobility, lifelong learning and workforce development. Through LDI, NJIT offers flexible learning pathways designed to help professionals, employers and organizations respond to changing technologies, industry needs and the growing demand for skills that can be applied immediately in the workplace.
“Through FutureWork™, our learning and development ecosystem for the age of artificial intelligence, we help individuals and organizations build the capabilities needed to succeed in a rapidly changing economy,” said Michael Edmondson, Ph.D., associate provost for Continued Learning at NJIT. “Skills-first hiring expands opportunity by recognizing the value of learning wherever it occurs, including degrees, certifications, apprenticeships, military service, workplace experience, and other pathways. By joining the Tear the Paper Ceiling movement, NJIT is proud to support an approach that broadens access to talent, strengthens workforce capability, and helps more individuals connect their skills and experience to meaningful career advancement.”
Along with NJIT, Tear the Paper Ceiling is supported by a coalition of leading national private sector and nonprofit organizations ranging from Fortune 100 employers to philanthropies and workforce development organizations. Together, the Coalition is leading the way in building a labor market that recognizes the tangible benefits – to workers and to businesses – of valuing skills from every route.
Since launching in 2022, the Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign has grown into a national movement with measurable impact. The campaign’s PSAs drive two million visits annually to TearThePaperCeiling.org, and those who have seen the campaign are changing how they view talent. 83% of employers say they are more likely to hire workers without bachelor’s degrees than they were 2–3 years ago, and 92% of employers report they are interested in hiring people who have acquired skills through routes other than a degree, according to Opportunity@Work.
“As the only university in New Jersey to join Opportunity@Work, NJIT is honored to support the STARs throughout the state as well as the region,” said Edmondson.
Opportunity@Work’s State of the Paper Ceiling report says collective action by employers and policymakers has halted the decades-long decline in STARs’ access to good-paying jobs, yielding 783,000 more STARs in those roles than projected. And now, there’s a clear path to open access to at least 10 million higher-paying jobs for STARs by 2030.
Organizations, employers, STARs, and individuals can join the movement by visiting TearThePaperCeiling.org to share their stories, find tools and resources, and learn more about how to adopt and promote skills-first hiring practices.
About New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is the greatest producer of technological talent and knowledge in New Jersey and is a nexus of innovation — a physical and intellectual focal point for innovative ideas, actions and people. The Wall Street Journal ranks NJIT No. 1 in New Jersey among public universities for both alumni salaries (No. 25 among all universities nationally) and value (No. 42 overall nationally). NJIT also is ranked No. 27 in the U.S. by The Princeton Review as a Best Value College, in addition to being rated among the top 40 public national universities and top 80 overall by U.S. News & World Report.
About Opportunity@Work
Opportunity@Work is a 501(c)3 nonprofit social enterprise on a mission to rewire the labor market so all Americans can work, learn, and earn to their full potential. Our work advances economic opportunities for the 70+ million U.S. workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) instead of through a bachelor’s degree. Opportunity@Work engages with corporate, public sector, talent technology, and philanthropic partners through landmark research and labor market data analysis, public awareness and narrative change, STARs-centric software tools, and multi-sector networks. Our goal is to enable upward mobility for 1 million STARs by opening up 10 million jobs, and boost their earnings by 100 billion dollars by 2035. Learn more at www.opportunityatwork.org.
About the Ad Council
The Ad Council convenes creative storytellers to educate, unite and uplift audiences by opening hearts, inspiring action and accelerating change. For more than 80 years, the nonprofit organization and its partners in advertising, media, marketing and tech have been behind some of the country’s most iconic social impact campaigns — Smokey Bear, Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk, Tear the Paper Ceiling and many more. To learn more or get involved, visit AdCouncil.org.
