A new campaign from Opportunity@Work and the Ad Council notes STARs, people Skilled Through Alternative Routes, are strong job applicants. Tearing the paper ceiling and looking beyond the four-year degree can create greater opportunity for STARs, who may include veterans.

Ross Dickman, COO of Hire Heroes USA, says, “One of the ways that companies can really access veterans STARs is to really focus on translating that skills gap, that knowledge gap, that skills barrier that’s represented by the military service.”

“Just because someone did an engineering job in the military, it can be hard to translate how that fits into a software engineering role. You’ve got to be willing to explore that work with the veterans in your organization.”

Dickman notes that companies need to look at job duties through a critical lens. He says a college degree might be required if a position correlates with a particular field of study, but if not – candidates should be considered for skills including their perseverance and tenacity.

Learn more about The Paper Ceiling.
Learn more about Opportunity@Work.
Learn more about the Ad Council.
Learn more about Hire Heroes USA.