Eckerd Connects joins Tear the Paper Ceiling coalition
The nonprofit serves more than 250,000 people a year across 21 states and the District of Columbia, adding employer ties to a campaign against four-year degree screens.
Eckerd Connects, a nonprofit serving more than 250,000 people annually across 21 states and the District of Columbia, has joined the Tear the Paper Ceiling Coalition, adding a workforce-development network to a campaign pressing employers to consider skills gained outside four-year degree programs, the organization announced Oct. 20.
Led by the Ad Council and Opportunity@Work, the campaign focuses on workers it calls STARs, or Skilled Through Alternative Routes. Eckerd’s announcement puts that population at more than 75 million, half the U.S. labor market. Those routes include apprenticeships, certifications, military service and on-the-job training.
Eckerd’s reach is not limited to job seekers. Its work spans workforce development, Job Corps, child and family services, juvenile justice and behavioral health. Its employment work includes education, job training and connections with employers.
“They deserve the chance to show what they can do, and a degree requirement shouldn't stand in the way when they have the skills to succeed,” Michael D. Smith, Eckerd Connects’ president and CEO, said in the announcement.
The coalition, launched in 2022, includes Fortune 100 employers, philanthropies and workforce-development organizations. Its campaign targets degree screens, hiring algorithms, stereotypes and limited professional networks as barriers to higher-paying jobs.
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