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There are good reasons for establishing educational minimums in many jobs. It is obvious in the medical profession that graduation from a medical school is a reasonable requirement for the practice of medicine. The United States military has basic training for everyone that wears the uniform in defense of the United States and many employers require a valid high school diploma as a condition of employment.

In most cases it is the public that requires protection from exploitation by scammers that may misrepresent themselves as trained and competent. Formal schooling is no guarantee of competence and as a result employee selection is often a combination of a review of credentials, interviews, and at times objective tests to confirm competence.

There are many jobs that require licenses to obtain jobs in the field. The professions in law, medicine, and accounting have strict educational and tests before licenses can be issued for a person to legally work in the field. Building trades are also licensed fields of employment. On a slightly different level driving cars and trucks and public transportation vehicles each have different levels of testing and credentialling. The real issue isn't holding back workers but insuring that the work gets done right and the public is protected. Appropriate requirements for formal education should be encouraged and applauded, not derided and used as an excuse for unemployment or underemployment.

Formal schooling and related tests can be used as a screening tool to determine who is a qualified applicant for a job. Unfortunately, schooling requirements and related tests can also be misused. Tests sometimes are not related to the skills need on the job and formal education requirements can be made so high that they again do not relate to job performance. Employers must be vigilant to make sure that the hiring practices they use are as valid as possible when selecting employees.

Many people complain that there are often formal education requirements that restrict otherwise qualified people from obtaining employment. Employers should again review their hiring practices to make sure that formal educational requirements are related to job performance.

Two other issues must also be considered when determining educational requirements. Is it possible to substitute relevant experience for formal education? Secondarily are schools or training available that provides people with the opportunity to obtain the credentials necessary to qualify for employment.

The current situation in the labor market with much higher unemployment rates gives employers more leverage in deciding qualifications for jobs, starting salaries and who will pay for the development of the workforce. This is change from when there seemed to be labor shortages in many areas and employers took more chances while lowering hiring standards and raising wages to attract workers from other fields.

Qualifications for jobs are almost always a two edged sword in the labor market and if the market is functioning properly people who want to work should be able to find work and there should always be opportunities for people to increase their skill levels to be more productive individuals and to contribute more to society.

Learn more about this author, John Asgeirson.
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