Sen. Fazio: New Law is First Step to Removing College Degree Requirements for More CT Jobs

For Immediate Release

Sen. Fazio: New Law is First Step to Removing College Degree Requirements for More CT Jobs

Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich) today applauded the governor’s signing of legislation which he introduced that requires Connecticut government to conduct a review of alternate pathways to state employment.

“This new law will put Connecticut on the right path to creating opportunity for workers without a college degree and broaden the pool of talent for future state workers,” Sen. Fazio said. “An expensive college degree should not be a barrier to a good job for workers unless absolutely necessary. I appreciate the support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle from the Labor Committee, as well as the state Department of Administrative Services, and the governor in passing this first step.”

Sen. Fazio continued, “As with the worker shortage in the private sector, state government is dealing with its own human resource challenges. Many open positions in state government remain unfilled. If you have skills in computer science, for example, why should you be disqualified from a job if you don’t have a college degree? This new law is about opening paths of opportunity. It will to seek ways to replace those leaving the workforce with competently trained individuals that want to work in state government. It puts the focus on attracting and retaining a vibrant state government workforce while removing unnecessary barriers to employment.”

In the past year, Democrat and Republican governors in Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia have taken executive action to filter prospective employees by skills, not degrees.

“This new law a step toward more practical management and long-term planning,” Sen. Fazio said. “Our state government is already going in the right direction on this front, and I hope this bill will lead to future legislation that further addresses our human resource challenges.”

Sen. Fazio represents Greenwich, New Canaan and Stamford.