Associate Degree and Credential Hiring

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1 Recruiting Trends Special Report 6-11 Associate Degree and Credential Hiring Preface: This report continues a series of special reports extracted from Recruiting Trends database. For those unfamiliar with these reports, our intention is to examine the hiring intentions for associates degrees and credentials earned at two-year institutions. The report s general format begins with describing characteristics of organizations hiring two-year graduates (size, economic sector, location, recruiting strategies), followed by hiring estimates that are analyzed by organizational characteristics. We have provided as much information as possible based on the limitations of the data set. Over the past decade The Recruiting Trends report has attempted to be more inclusive by gathering as much information on associates degrees as possible. During the past year, CERI participated in a research project sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gate for their Post- Secondary Success Program. This project expanded our understanding of the importance of two-year colleges in preparation of the workforce and introduced us to the role of credentials in assisting low-income earners to obtain livable employment. As part of this year s labor market study, we invited a number of two-year colleges to join the coalition that assists the Institute through invitations to their employers, asking them participate in the survey. The number of employers seeking two-year degrees nearly doubled. The information presented below is the most robust data we have yet to collect on two-year degrees. Caution needs to be taken in interpreting results as two-year college labor markets tend to be local. We still do not have enough employers from some regions to establish solid trends. This report should be used in conjunction with the national report, Recruiting Trends , and the four regional reports for EACE, SOACE, MWACE, and MPACE. All these reports are available on the CERI website ( for download. Highlights for Associate Degrees Tend to be recruited by larger organizations than the national average Leading sectors include Government, Manufacturing, Health Services, Education, and Professional & Scientific Services Higher involvement in internships and co-ops than national average

2 Nearly 30% will definitely hire in Overall associate hiring will be down 3% Small firms and establishments, under 4,000 employees, will see hiring increases; only the largest companies will decrease their hiring of associate degrees Positive gains in Manufacturing and Professional & Scientific Services Strongest growth in jobs in Midwest and Southeast Part I. Associates Degree Approximately 1375 employers indicated that they sought graduates from two-year associate degree programs. 550 were considering only two-year degree graduates and the remaining 826 were interested in both two-year degrees and credentials from two-year institutions. 60% of two-year employers provided complete hiring details for two-year degree graduates. This section of the report provides information that pertains to two-year degree completers. Characteristics: The average number of employees per company seeking two-year associate degree graduates was reported as 8,667 with a median size of 217. A breakdown by size categories indicates that companies and organizations hiring associate degrees tend to be small, with 63% having 500 or fewer employees. Category Employees Number: Associates Very Small < Fast Growth Small Medium Large > Note: Fast growth companies are also referred to as second-stage companies, meaning they have exited the start-up or entrepreneurial stage. Economic Sector: Companies and organizations represent a diverse mix of economic sectors, based on the North American Industrial Classification system. We have grouped organizations into 20 different NAIC groups. Listed below are the leading economic sectors that contributed hiring information for associate degree graduates. Economic Sectors Percent of Respondents Government 14

3 Manufacturing 13 Health Services 13 Education 12 Professional & Scientific Services 11 Financial and Insurance Services 8 Non-profit Organizations 7 Specific economic sub-sectors that expressed an interest in associate degree graduates are listed below. The sub-sectors that have been listed comprised at least 2% of the total response. Overall, 144 sub-sectors reported that they had an interest in candidates who had obtained a two-year degree. Subsectors Number of Companies Responding Hospitals 56 Insurance Carriers 55 Legislative Offices 45 Employment Agencies (temporary help not 34 executive management searches) K-12 Education 34 Police and Fire Protection 31 Engineering Services (drafting, surveying, 29 inspection) Computer Systems Design & Services 29 Commercial Banking & Saving Institutions 28 Manufacturing (not classified) 27 Merchant Wholesalers 26 Location: Every attempt was made to capture information from across the U.S. We approached a number of two-year institutions who were not able to participate in the study at this time. Fifteen two-year colleges did assist with the project (Our goal for is to have 30 twoyear institutions participating). Unfortunately, their distribution was not uniform, thus some regions of the country were more represented than others. The following report provides the geographic distribution of regional based employers. Employers who indicated that they recruited across the U.S. for talent have not been included.

4 Recruiting Areas (geographic): Recruiting Region New England States 8 Mid-Atlantic States 9 Great Lakes States 30 Upper Plains States 12 Southeast States 19 South-Central States 12 Southwest States 10 Northwest States 9 Recruiting Strategies: Employers have a number of recruiting strategies that they can utilize to identify and recruit college talent. The following list illustrates the level of participation by organizations seeking two-year graduates. Since this question did not specify type of institution, many of these strategies were employed at four-year institutions rather than two-year institutions. The one strategy to note is the use of internships and co-ops among these employers. Their overall usage is slightly higher than the national average of all employers who responded. Internships and co-ops are very important to the successful transition of community college graduates into the workplace. Recruiting Strategy On-campus Presentations 41 On-campus Interviews 27 On-campus Career Fairs 59 On-campus Resume Referral 43 System On-campus Faculty 37 Connections On-campus Web-based 85 Employment System Internships and Co-ops & 63 Other Programs for Professional Experience Organization s Web Portal 74 Employees and Alumni 54 Connections Job Fairs Off Campus (can 39 still be University-sponsored)

5 Targeted Job Fairs 30 National Web-Based 59 Employment Service Provider State & Local Job Boards 37 Consultants 22 Social Media (all forms) 31 College Labor Market Outlook: Before providing their actual hiring targets for the year, respondents were asked their perception of the college labor market (overall and then for their industry) on a scale that ranged from 1 = Poor to 5 = Excellent. Overall, these employers believe the overall college labor market is FAIR (mean 2.09), which is slightly higher than the average of the entire national sample. They even feel better about how their own economic sector is doing with respect to the college hiring with a FAIR to GOOD rating (mean 2.58), which is one of the highest ratings of any sub-group examined. Hiring Intentions for : Entering the academic year, approximately 70% of these employers had hired a new college graduate the previous academic year. Based on their expectations this year, 29% have definite plans to hire college graduates during Intentions Definitely will hire 29 Preliminary plans to hire 22 Uncertain would like to hire 39 Will not hire 10 Uncertainty about the economy is prevalent in these hiring plans, as 39% said they would like to hire but economic uncertainty kept them from committing at this time. Among employers who hired last year, 35% are uncertain about hiring this year. Among those who did not hire last year, uncertainty is much higher, with 49% saying they would like to hire but are waiting until conditions improve. Hiring Last Year Definitely Hire Preliminary Uncertain Will Not Hire Plans YES NO

6 Hiring Targets for : The following hiring projects are based on the complete information provided by 817 employers. Overall associates hiring is decreasing slightly, 3%, compared to last year. Small companies seem to be increasing their hiring projects for associate degrees at a good clip. The decline among large companies points to where the erosion in opportunities is concentrated. Large companies will decrease opportunities for associate degrees by 19%. Degree Level Average Hires Average Hires Change Expected Year over Year Associate (all) Very Small (<9) Fast Growth Small Medium Large Economic Sectors: Hiring targets have been provided for the economic sectors where enough information has been provided to make the projections reliable. Please remember that some of the sectors may be represented by a small number of employers. Small numbers can produce sharp swings that may not be representative of the entire sector throughout the country. The decline in hiring can be attributed to the sharp decrease in projected hires in the information service sector which is comprised of publishing, broadcasting, telecommunications, and web service providers/software providers. Two other key sectors for two-year graduates, health services and government, are also decreasing their hiring outlook. Two-year Associate Degree Hiring Projections by Economic Sector Economic Sector Average Hires Average Hires Change Expected Year over Year Utilities Construction Manufacturing Wholesale

7 Retail NC Transportation Information Services Finance & Insurance Professional & Scientific Services Administrative Services Education Health Services Arts & Entertainment Hospitality Non-profit Government Location: Strong declines in hiring projects in the Northeast, middle-atlantic, and Northwest states are not offset by the hiring increases planned by employers throughout much of the rest of the country. Hiring Projects for Two-Year Associate Degrees by Location Location Average Hires Average Hires Change Expected Year over Year Northeast Middle Atlantic Great Lakes Upper Plains

8 Southeast South-central Southwest Northwest Who are Two-year College Employers Seeking for Their Talent Pool? Employers were asked to indicate which academic programs they were targeting for their talent pool. This question was not institution-specific and the options reflected academic programs typically found at fouryear institutions. What is interesting is the high number of employers in this group who seek talent regardless of academic discipline (the All Major category below). This figure suggests that these employers are looking for skill and competency combinations that transcend academic training. This list probably does not articulate the choices employers are making at the two-year college level. In the future we will address this issue and hopefully find a strategy that does not overload the respondent with an endless list of program choices. Majors of Employers Seeking All Majors (no specific major specified) 45 All Technical Majors (engineering and 28 computer science, major not specified) All Business Majors (specific major not 28 specified) All Liberal Arts (no specific major specified) 19 Accounting 26 Marketing 26 Finance 23 Human Resources 21 Computer Science & Comp. Sci. Infosystems 20 & Communications MIS (Comp) & MIS (Business) 19 Computer Programming 18 Public Relations & Information Systems 17 Social Work 16 Nursing & Electrical Engineering 14 Psychology 13

9 Types of positions being filled: Listed below are the top positions that these employers expect to fill with new college hires this year. Please note this breakdown is not degree-specific and does not pertain exclusively to associate degree earners. Type of Position of Employers Filling this Position Accounting 26 Administrative Services 23 Customer Services 21 Computer Services 20 Sales 18 Human Resources & Business Services 17 Marketing & Educational Services 16 Management Training Programs 15 Information Services 14 Financial Services 11 Starting Salaries: The following list of starting salaries by academic discipline is not complete. We have only included salaries where 30 or more companies have provided their salary information. For additional information about associate salaries broken out by company size and economic sector, please refer to Recruiting Trends Special Report 5-11: Starting Salary Offers which can be found at our website: /recruiting-trends special-report-5-11-starting-salary-offers/. Associate Level Degree Average Starting Salary ($) Salary Range ($) All Business Majors 33, K All Technical & Engineering 41, K Majors All Computer Science & IT 40, K Nursing 40, K Health Sciences 35, K All Other Majors 27, K Highlights for Credentials Slightly smaller organizations hire credentials than two-year degrees Leading sectors: Health Services, Manufacturing, Government, and Professional & Scientific Services

10 Sharp decrease in hiring of credential in (down 35%) Decreases occurring in companies with 100 or more employees Biggest declines in Information Services, Professional & Scientific Services, Health Services, and Government Biggest gains in Manufacturing, Retail, and Finance & Insurance Part II. Credentials This is the first year that a credential category has appeared in the Recruiting Trends survey. Because of the magnitude of credentials options available and the variety of providers, we restricted credential hiring to those earned at a two-year college. We have little experience interpreting credential hiring information. The information presented here has to be considered a benchmark to build upon. Overall, the credential hiring data confused the total hiring picture because of the sharp decline in number of credential earners being sought. We are still evaluating if we should continue to collect data on credentials in future surveys. 950 employers indicated that they sought two-year college credential earners. Within this group 125 only sought credential earners and 826 sought both credential and two-year degree completers. Characteristics: The average size of the organization hiring credential earners was 8214 employees, with a median size of 190 (slightly smaller than organizations seeking two-year degrees). Over 65% of these organizations were smaller than 500 employees (slightly more than for two-year degrees). Category Employees Number: Associates Very Small < Fast Growth Small Medium Large > Economic Sector: Companies and organizations represent a diverse mix of economic sectors, based on the North American Industrial Classification system. We have grouped organizations into 20 different NAIC groups. Listed below are the leading economic sectors that contributed hiring information for credential earners.

11 Economic Sectors Percent of Respondents Health Services 15 Manufacturing 14 Government 14 Professional & Scientific Services 10 Financial and Insurance Services 7 Non-profit Organizations 7 Specific economic sub-sectors that expressed an interest in credential earners are listed below. Overall, 132 sub-sectors reported that they had an interest in credential candidates. The numbers were distributed fairly evenly across most of the sub-sectors: between 1% and 2%. The following sub-sectors occurred most frequently at 3% to 4%. Sub-sectors Number of Companies Responding Hospitals 42 Insurance Carriers and Agencies 37 Legislative and Executive Offices 33 Employment Services (placement, temporary 29 services) Location: Every attempt was made to capture information from across the U.S. We approached a number of two-year institutions who were not able to participate in the study at this time. 15 two-year colleges did assist with the project (Our goal for is to have 30 two-year institutions participating.). Unfortunately, their distribution was not uniform, thus some regions of the country were more represented than others. The following report provides the geographic distribution of regional-based employers who seek credential graduates. Employers who indicated that they recruited across the U.S. for talent have not been included. Recruiting Areas (Geographic): Recruiting Region New England States 9

12 Mid-Atlantic States 9 Great Lakes States 29 Upper Plains States 12 Southeast States 18 South-Central States 13 Southwest States 10 Northwest States 10 Leading states for credential earners include: Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Minnesota and Ohio. (Note: At this point we have no other descriptors on credential earners. We have yet to find a short, useful dichotomy of programs to use in the survey. We simply ask for all credentials. We have no information at this time on types of credentials, positions being filled, employment outlook, and salary.) Hiring Targets for : In calculating the hiring projections for credential we have two ways to break out the data. First, we can examine only the companies that indicated that they recruited or had relationships with two-year schools (302 provided complete hiring information). Second, we can examine all employers who hire credential graduates (557 with complete information, including 302 in the first group). Employers who are engaged with twoyear colleges will be increasing their credential hires; however, the 255 who hire credential earners via off-campus strategies (like posting to a national web host or local job board, for example) expect to decrease credential hiring this year. Small organizations are more likely to be increasing their hiring of credential earners than large companies. Large companies expect to reduce credential hiring by 24% to 58%. Degree Level And Company Size Campus Rel. Expected Campus Rel. Change Year over Year Av. Hires All Hiring Expected All Hiring Change Year over Year Credentials (all) Very Small > >100 (<9) Fast Growth > Small Medium Large

13 Economic Sectors: Hiring targets have been provided for the economic sectors where enough information has been provided to make the projections reliable. Please remember that some of the sectors may be represented by a small number of employers. Small numbers can produce sharp swings that may not be representative of the entire sector throughout the country. The decline in hiring can be attributed to the sharp decrease in projected hires in the information service sector which is comprised of publishing, broadcasting, telecommunications, and web service providers/software providers. Two other key sectors for two-year graduates, health services and government, are also decreasing their hiring outlook. Two-year Credential Earner Hiring Projections by Economic Sector Economic Sector Campus Rel. Expected Campus Rel. Change Year over Year Av. Hires All Hiring Expected All Hiring Change Year over Year Construction Manufacturing Wholesale ** ** ** NC Retail >100 Transportation Information Services Finance & Insurance Professional & Scientific Services Administrative Services > > > > > Education

14 Health Services Hospitality Non-profit Government >-100 From our work with the Gates Foundation, we learned that an essential component of any earn and learn program is the necessity for the alignment between the three parties: educators, learners, and employers. The evidence above supports this element in that employers who are engaged at the institutions from whom they recruit credential talent are more likely to have positive hiring targets. On the other hand, organizations without these types of relations seem to have wide fluctuations in their hiring targets year-to-year. Administrative services (essentially placement/staffing firms) seem to play an important role in job acquisition for credential graduates. While health service hiring can be expected to improve when the economy gains more momentum, concerns that government (a big champion of credential attainment) hiring will continue to shrink should be taken seriously. Location: Strong gains in hiring projects in the Northeast and Upper Plains are offset by the hiring decreases planned by employers throughout much of the rest of the country. Again, employers with a close working relationship with their local community colleges tend to reflect stronger hiring. Hiring Projects for Two-Year Credential Earner by Location Location Av. Hires Campus Rel. Expected Campus Rel. Change Year over Year Av. Hires All Hiring Expected All Hiring Change Year over Year Northeast Middle Atlantic Great Lakes Upper Plains >

15 Southeast South- Central Southwest Northwest This first attempt in dealing with credentials at the two-year college level has been a struggle to interpret what is transpiring year-over-year. One thought is that as the college labor market improves, employers shift from low-cost, specific task workers to higher cost degreed talent that can either perform at a higher level or is more versatile in the range of assignments that can be covered. More details on the labor market dynamics is needed to make any inference on the long-term viability of this type of skill acquisition. For example, we need to explore questions like these: What types of institutions are more trusted to provide credential training and skill verification? What do employers think when they hear the word certification and credential? Some leaders in workforce development are well aware and prize credential talent; but what about the broader spectrum of employers? If employers are focused on skills, what would make credentials more appealing in positive labor markets? These questions and others continue to surface as we explore the credential market. Feedback and insights into credentials market dynamics are appreciated and will be considered in future trends research.