Murphy To Drop College Requirement For State Workers

By Christian Wade | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square New Jersey

April 15, 2023

(The Center Square) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is moving to drop college degree requirements for some state workers as part of an effort to ease chronic workforce shortages.
Murphy has signed an executive order directing the New Jersey Civil Service Commission to conduct a six-month review to determine which jobs can be reclassified to prioritize "practical skills and experiences" over "strict educational requirements."

He said the move will "open the door" to high-paying jobs, with salaries topping 120,000 a year for hundreds of candidates who are either rejected or dissuaded from applying for public sector work each year because they lack the educational requirements.

"Every American should have the ability to attain a good job with growth opportunities and secure their place in the middle class, regardless of whether or not they have a college degree," he said in a statement. "Employment qualifications for good-paying jobs in our state workforce should not exclude individuals with qualifying experience, unique skillsets, and diverse backgrounds."

Murphy's order declares that the state, which is New Jersey's largest employer, "must take action to modernize, innovate, and expand recruitment and retention efforts to attract and maintain a strong pool of qualified candidates for careers in public service while competing effectively in an evolving labor market."

The order says the recruitment efforts "must not only reflect the realities of this market, but also serve as an acknowledgement of the importance of practical work experience and skills training without unduly restricting qualified candidates from competing for these opportunities."

The move would make New Jersey the sixth state to ease college degree requirements for public sector workers and comes as the state struggles to fill job openings amid a nationwide labor shortage.

"There were 1.7 new job openings for every U.S. worker in February, which is a drop from the previous month," according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In December, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced that the state had reclassified more than 1,000 state jobs, with an estimated 98% no longer requiring a degree.

"Degrees have become a blanketed barrier-to-entry in too many jobs," Cox said in a statement. "Instead of focusing on demonstrated competence, the focus too often has been on a piece of paper. We are changing that."

In his statement, Murphy urged other states, as well as private sector employers "to remove barriers to opportunity" by dropping college requirements for certain positions.

The focus of the work of The Center Square New Jersey is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.