A lot of progressives assume that every CEO inherited their position and their pay without putting in any hard work.
However, most CEOs are highly experienced business people with a lot of professional expertise in their field.
And these big-time CEOs have some strong opinions about college degrees.
Home Depot and Walmart CEOs speak out
The CEOs of Home Depot and Walmart US got together and wrote a joint column in The Wall Street Journal entitled, Not Everyone Needs a College Degree.
The opinion piece urges employers to stop looking at college degrees as the only asset and instead start valuing skills more when making hiring decisions.
Home Depot’s Ted Decker and Walmart US’s John Furner go into detail about how they “are helping build a skills-based economy.”
The duo wrote that. “A skills-based approach to employment is critical in a country where 62% of adults don’t have a college degree.”
Meanwhile, student loan debt has skyrocketed to $1.8 trillion in the United States.
The CEOs said they reject the idea that has been instilled in many Americans that one must get a college degree in order to achieve the American dream.
“The American dream isn’t dead, but the path to reach it might look different for job seekers than it did for their parents,” the two CEOs wrote. “While a college degree is a worthwhile path to prosperity, it isn’t the only one.”
The businessmen also pointed out that skilled trades, such as plumbing, carpentry, and electrical work, are solid ways to earn a good living but are not being pursued enough because so many people think success requires having a bachelor’s degree from a four-year college.
Decker and Furner lead two of the biggest private sector employers in the US, with a combined two-million jobs between them.
They also made note that 90% of Home Depot’s store leaders began as hourly employees, and 75% of Walmart store managers started the same way.
Store leaders and managers often earn up to six figures annually and can manage hundreds of people, all without needing to have a college degree.
The two CEOs said employers should certainly focus on skill-based hiring, but should also focus on fostering new skill sets among their existing employees.
Growth is possible without a degree
Both Home Depot and Walmart have a variety of training programs for their employees to help create long-term, sustainable career paths.
“We need more employers to join us in building a system where workers can easily transfer skills from one company or industry to another,” they wrote. “We owe it to younger generations to open our minds to the different opportunities workers have to learn new skills and achieve their dreams.”
Both CEOs are hosting a workforce summit in Washington, D.C. at the end of April.
During the summit, they’ll speak with business leaders, government officials, and workforce experts about the various skills required for different careers, how to assess workers’ abilities, and how companies can teach new skills on the job.
Patriot Political will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
