North Carolina Gov. Cooper wants more state positions to not require college degrees

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With continued challenges to fill employee vacancies, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told the state personnel office on Monday to act to ensure that more positions don’t necessarily require a college degree for applicants.

Cooper’s executive order, which covers Cabinet-level agencies, is designed to encourage more people to apply for state jobs.

Cooper tells the Office of State Human Resources to add language to job postings that clarifies directly related experience can be a substitute for an education requirement in most state jobs. Already about 75% of state job classifications either don’t require a higher education degree or permit experience as an education substitute, Cooper’s office said.

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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks on May 17, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Cooper issued an executive order designed to encourage more people to apply for state jobs even if they do not have a college degree. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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"We want more qualified candidates to apply for positions across state government," State Human Resources Director Barbara Gibson said in the release. "People who have been working in a similar role successfully for years should be on equal footing with applicants with academic degrees."

There are about 1,400 permanent or temporary state government job openings currently on state government's career portal, according to a Cooper news release.

The order also directs efforts within Cabinet agencies to eliminate management preferences to hire people with degrees. Those agencies will receive training to help applicants meet minimum applicant standards.