Employers must expand their talent searches to include STARs – workers and job seekers Skilled Through Alternative Routes, says Kenny Nguyen, CEO and co-founder, ThreeSixtyEight. Nguyen is also co-curator of Assembly Required.

WorkingNation sat down with Nguyen at SXSW EDU 2023 in Austin.

Nguyen says, “Let’s have a conversation about (the) shame around not having a degree. We think, commonly in America, that degrees are the requirement to success. Have we ever challenged what the road to success actually means? I think that’s on an individual basis.”

“But on a societal basis, the more we can have educators and people that are role models tell us that degrees are not the only way to succeed in society, I think we’re going to loosen a lot of this imposter syndrome that STARs, like myself,have.”

Tear the Paper Ceiling is a campaign – from Opportunity@Work and the Ad Council – that encourages employers to consider the talent pool that does not have college degrees when they are looking for new workers or seeking to promote current workers.

Learn more about ThreeSixtyEight.
Learn more about Assembly Required.
Learn more about Tear the Paper Ceiling.