The job market is stagnant.
This is a frustrating time for both recruiters and workers. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are approximately 8 million job openings in the U.S., but only 6.8 million unemployed Americans to fill them. The current trends and practices around recruitment need to change, and they need to start at the very beginning of the recruitment process.
Not with candidate applications and job listings, but with the internal creation of the role itself.
For years, we have separated many jobs into “blue-collar” or “white-collar” work. These terms are quickly becoming outdated, and we should look to expand our understanding of work as the workplace constantly evolves.
In response to the vast expansion of the tech industry, we have seen a new term crop up—new collar jobs. By looking at the specialties and training of new collar workers, we can overhaul our approach to recruitment in other sectors too.
What Are Blue-Collar and White-Collar Workers?
Blue-collar and white-collar descriptors are attached to types of workers based on where they work.
White-collar workers traditionally wore white shirts and would primarily work from an office. Lawyers, doctors, engineers, and office-based jobs like sales or marketing can all be considered white-collar jobs.
Blue-collar workers are so named because of the heavy-duty workshirts they wear, usually made of materials like denim. They are employed in manual or skilled trades, such as construction workers, farmers, truckers, or factory workers.
These terms are increasingly outdated nowadays as there is an implication that blue-collar work is “low-value” and carried out by those with poor education. Conversely, white-collar jobs require a high level of education and, therefore, are considered “more valuable” in the eyes of society.
This is obviously not true. While a doctor or lawyer certainly might require a higher level of and significantly more time in education than a trucker or a farmer, this does not mean that their work is any more valuable in society. Many blue-collar jobs form the backbone of our societal infrastructure, and without them, things would literally fall apart. It is an incredible disservice to the hard-working people of these industries to actively discredit them by implying their career path is lesser due to their education.
Referring to blue-collar and white-collar workers is not inherently offensive. If you are using them simply as descriptors and to define the difference in labor, it is fine to use them. However, you should never use them to imply that one group is better than the other. We have mentioned the differences here purely to provide a starting point and an introduction to our discussions into the rising new-collar workers.
What Are New-Collar Workers?
New-collar workers sit in between their blue-collar and white-collar colleagues, using both technical and soft skills as part of their everyday roles. The term was first coined by IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty following efforts from the tech giant to hire people for tech roles from nontraditional education paths.
The contemporary tech industry differs significantly from the one it originated from. While a four-year college degree and/or postgraduate study may help a career in this industry, other routes can lead to exactly the same role.
Formal education can help support a tech career, but many of the practical skills of this new generation of tech development are often best developed in the workplace rather than in a classroom. Employers also emphasize hiring for soft skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. While these are developed in education settings, they are also nurtured in our everyday activities at work. That is, you might not learn emotional intelligence in a lecture about artificial intelligence, but you might pick up its nuances as you collaborate on a project with colleagues.
What Can the Rise of New-Collar Workers Teach Us?
Many job roles will always need highly educated and traditionally skilled workers to fill them. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that new-collar workers are limited to the modern tech industry. Other industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, and finance could all benefit from an injection of new-collar workers. These are exactly the types of environments where new trainees can hit the ground running and build new skills working the job itself, not getting cooped up in a classroom first.
At their core, new-collar jobs prioritize the development of skills over a traditional college education. Compiling and demonstrating these lists of skills can be shown across many different industries.
This could then potentially lead to a shake-up of our stagnant job market. Candidates would not have to put so much emphasis on their experience and education but could lead with the skills that will support them in the role. A skills-first mindset in recruitment should, hopefully, lead to a skilled and confident workforce that is constantly evolving and growing.
How Do We Create a Culture Centred Around Skills-First Hiring?
This culture of skills-first recruitment, unfortunately, won’t spring from nowhere. We have to put the work in to prioritize a diverse talent pool brimming with potential. This could look like:
Build a New Understanding of Workplace Skills
We need to rethink the way we understand workplace skills. Soft skills have to take the lead over more technical ones. For example, many businesses still ask for proficiency in certain software. A basic one would be the Microsoft suite or the understanding of task management software such as monday.com or ClickUp. What many people who do use these software know is that once you have used one, you have used them all. Looking at the human skills put to use in actions creates a list of competencies that will help recruiters find the skills they want for their workforces.
Broaden the Talent Pool
With a diverse talent pool representing a wide subsection of society, companies make better decisions and perform better. Research from McKinsey has shown time and time again that companies in the top quartile were 39% more likely to financially outperform those in the bottom.
When we discuss hiring diversely, we often rightly frame it around discussions of ensuring marginalized groups have a place in the workforce. Let’s extend this to also include people from nontraditional education paths. Imagine you only wanted to hire people from Ivy League universities; you would miss out on so much talent. Why then limit your hiring practices to only people with college degrees? Broaden your talent pool, and be ready to embrace the candidates who come your way.
Offer the Upskilling
Right, so you have a candidate with the soft skills needed for excellence in the role, but none of the experience or training just yet. It is then your responsibility as an employer to ensure there is adequate on-the-job training to help employees develop these missing skills.
Training programs and mentorship will be key in helping employees acquire the skills missing from their current careers. According to data from LinkedIn Learning, 91% of Learning & Development professionals agree continuous learning is more important than ever for career success. Companies need to launch high-quality training programs that employees want to engage with.
Retrain Managers and Leadership
Managers and leadership dictate hiring practices. They may ask for HR to include nontraditional candidates in first-round interviews, but if they only progress those with college degrees then change needs to be made. Leadership needs to understand the value these nontraditional candidates can bring.
Training management to recognize interview bias or providing them with standardized evaluation rubrics can be great first steps. Interview panels need to be aware of their own unconscious biases so they can build practices and strategies to get past them. Ultimately, their own ways of thinking need to be adjusted so they inherently view every candidate with as open a mind as possible.
Grow Properly
A change to hiring practices such as this will require support from all sides. It can be tempting to lead with a small pilot program and just a few new hires, but the reality is employees hired for their skills may feel lost and alone amongst more experienced colleagues. A buddy system and onboarding mentoring can help these new hires feel secure and welcome in their organizations. Reverse mentoring can also help them pass on the knowledge they do have to more established coworkers looking to realign their ways of thinking.
Skills-first practices need to be embedded throughout the company so there is a clear progression path for these new employees. A pilot hiring program will just leave them feeling isolated with no way forward.
Rethink Your Hiring and Development Practices Today
A new-collar workforce won’t bring all the answers to your business’s problems, but they can help you see issues from a new perspective. Not everyone wants to commit to a college degree when there are better options for them for a lucrative and satisfying career with less upfront training.
No matter how you decide to embrace new collar workers, you need to ensure that they are properly supported when they enter your organization. Mentoring is key for creating a welcoming environment for them, showing that they have the support of colleagues and a clear path to follow to begin picking up knowledge and experience.
A structured mentoring program helps everyone stay on the same page and ensures everyone gets the partnership they deserve. MentorcliQ’s mentoring software takes the administrative burden away from program leaders, allowing them to focus on their own responsibilities and nurturing their mentees.
Book a demo with us today to find out more about how mentoring can support your employees, whether their collars are white, blue, or new.
