LACK of available workers is changing how employers are thinking about one in three individuals who have a criminal record, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management and Charles Koch Institute. Fifty-three percent of HR professionals say they would be willing to hire individuals with criminal records, up from just 37% in 2018. Eighty-five percent of HR professionals and 81% of business leaders believe workers with criminal records perform just as well or better in their jobs compared to workers without criminal records.

DESPITE the national conversation regarding the value and cost of obtaining one, degrees from colleges or universities topped the list of importance when evaluating job candidates, with 72% of employers saying it was either “extremely” or “very” important. Just 4% said degrees were “not important at all.” Though digital badges and microcredentials were deemed the least important form of education in hiring.

LIKEWISE, when it came to upskilling, by a 51% margin, business leaders said tuition reimbursements or scholarships were the education benefit that was most effective at upskilling, according to the survey by Wiley, an academic and instructional publishing company. Just 16% of business leaders thought micro-credentials and badges were an extremely effective upskilling benefit.

RECRUITMENT is the biggest draw for forming strategic partnerships with other employers, local colleges, and community and industry groups, say 37% of business leaders in a SHRM survey. Twenty-eight percent of employers collaborate on skill-based training and development such as certification programs and formal mentoring, while 21% collaborate on paid work-based learning such as internships and apprenticeships, although only 9% of those surveyed offered apprenticeships.