Less than 40% of Philadelphia’s adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
New Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker has made clear her intent to increase career opportunities for these City of Brotherly Love residents.
In one of her first official actions after sworn in on Jan. 2, Parker signed an executive order that looks to remove college degree requirements for certain city jobs, “as part of a broader effort to diversify the city workforce,” as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
In a letter to her fellow Philadelphians, also dated Jan. 2, Parker laid out her action plan for her first 100 days in office. Parker’s blueprint includes a pledge to continue to remove college degree requirements for many city jobs, as well as spreading the word about current job opportunities in city government, “opening the door for more Philadelphians to access good-paying jobs,” she wrote.
At the signing of the aforementioned executive order, Parker said the directive to remove degree requirements for many city jobs was “just a first step toward changing city workforce rules,” according to the Inquirer.
“In what would be a major shift in how the municipal government works, Parker said she also has a goal of eliminating written examinations from the civil service system after a ‘robust exploration’ of the idea,” wrote the paper’s Aliya Schneider and Sean Collins Walsh.
Parker’s order also mandates that the city’s chief administrative officer and Office of Human Resources identify positions that could have alternative qualifications for applicants, with the Civil Service Commission required to approve any changes to union jobs.
At the signing, Parker also referenced former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who officially shed degree requirements for thousands of Maryland state jobs in 2022. A handful of other states have made similar moves in recent years, including Alaska, Colorado, New Jersey and Parker’s home state of Pennsylvania.
In signing a January 2023 executive order abolishing degree requirements for roughly 90% of Pennsylvania’s state jobs, Gov. Josh Shapiro directed the state to place more emphasis on competencies and experience when sizing up job candidates.
“The Commonwealth is committed to increasing economic opportunity for all people of Pennsylvania by creating new pathways to public employment,” the order read. “This means that approximately 65,000 jobs can be filled by people that possess the relevant work experience and skills-based training, regardless of their educational attainment.”
As the Inquirer noted, Parker signed two other executive orders within hours of officially taking office. One of those orders is designed to make local government “more visible, responsive and effective in how it delivers services to citizens and constituents.” The other declared a citywide public safety emergency, directing Philadelphia’s police commissioner and its managing director to develop comprehensive plans to address public safety across the city.
Creating more employment options for Philadelphia’s citizens would go a long way toward increasing safety around the city, Parker said in announcing the orders.
“Because if you want to reduce violence, eliminate violence in the city of Philadelphia, I would argue, if we put people on a path to self-sufficiency and give them access to an opportunity where they can earn a living wage, healthcare and retirement security, and be self-sufficient to take care of themselves, this will help a great deal in accomplishing that.”
17 January 2024
Category
HR News Article
