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It's the Brianair Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. Now we continue our series on

stars, workers skilled through alternative routes, skilled through alternative roots,

stars with a focus today on what it means to hire for skills, not just degrees, because the alternative

routes means without a bachelor's degree

from college.

And we'll talk about how two organizations, one in industry and one in workforce development,

are trying to change the way we think about talent.

About half of working Americans today don't have a four-year college degree, but many have

gained skills through other routes,

community college, military service, apprenticeships, boot camps, or hands-on experience. And still,

many are shut out of good jobs that post BA required, even when the work itself doesn't need it.

So what would it look like for employers to rethink hiring from the ground up?

Joining us today, Amy Volz, head of workforce innovation at trained technologies. That's a global

climate innovator, as they describe themselves, and a company that's developed a skills-first

apprenticeship program to build talent from the ground up and

Ebony Thomas managing partner at grads of life a nonprofit that says it works with

leading employers to create skills first talent strategies that deliver both

business benefits and social impact and part of that mission includes helping stars connect with career opportunities.

So Amy, Ebony, thanks for joining this series.

Welcome to WNYC.

Thank you.

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