How AI can advance a skills-first labor market
With the right approach, it can help tear the paper ceiling
Technology may help solve the problem — but it was also part of the cause.
Over the past 20 years, STARs have been denied access to almost 7.4 million middle- and high-wage jobs. Technology-enabled hiring systems, job-posting platforms, applicant tracking systems (ATS), and credential verification platforms have formed part of the barrier for STARs, often encoding or enforcing degree requirements, or relying on proxies (for example, Titles and formal credentials) that exclude STARs. These systems, when designed without intentional calibration, can perpetuate bias or discrimination, reinforcing the “paper ceiling.”
On the other hand, technology also offers tools — such as skills-focused matching platforms, digital credentials, labor data analytics, and improved recruiter tools — to recognize STARs’ skills and help erase their losses in job mobility.
There is a pressing need to rewire hiring and workforce systems so that technology is not a barrier but a bridge: ensuring that tools, platforms, and policies support skills-first hiring, skill-based pathways, and equitable labor market mobility for all workers, including STARs. Without deliberate intervention, technological systems risk reinforcing existing inequities; with proper design and incentives, they can substantially widen access and opportunity.
If you can do the job, you should get the job
Read more on this topic in Brookings by Opportunity@Work's Founder and CEO, Byron Auguste, and Chief Impact Officer, Papia Debroy.
AI is "amplified intention"
AI is only as fair as the assumptions and data behind it – and it will amplify historically unfair practices unless we intentionally design them not to do so. If hiring algorithms are built to favor degrees, they will “screen out” STARs by default. But if they are built to recognize and match skills, AI can “screen in” millions of qualified candidates who have been overlooked.
AI enables a skills-first approach to hiring:
- Parse skills from experience by analyzing resumes, work histories, and portfolios for demonstrated capabilities — regardless of formal credentials.
- Build skills taxonomies to match candidates to roles by skills equivalency rather than exact job titles or degree requirements.
- Reduce human bias in early screening by focusing on skills signals from work experience, certifications, and projects instead of subjective educational proxies.
- Identify pathways for growth by mapping adjacent skills and emerging opportunities so workers can navigate the labor market more effectively.
AI plays a role on both sides of the labor market
For STARs supplying talent, AI can expand visibility into opportunities, highlight transferable skills, and recommend tailored pathways to higher-wage work. It can also serve as a “co-pilot” to help workers learn faster (increase skills velocity) and adapt more easily to new demands (increase skills agility).
For employers in demand of talent, AI can make it easier to assess skills at scale, improve candidate-job fit, and shorten time-to-hire. That means better matches, higher retention, and stronger, more diverse talent pipelines.
Guidelines for Building an AI-Driven, Skills-First Future
To ensure AI benefits STARs, we must:
Our Solutions
STARs Research and Data
Our analytical and research capabilities inform the nation’s understanding of STARs' potential and uncover insights that show how to make positive economic change within regions and industries.
STARs Talent Category Narrative
We reverse misperceptions and correct the narrative about STARs and their skills through public advocacy, including our national advertising campaign, “Tear the Paper Ceiling.”
STAR-Inclusive Tech Tools
We scale skills-first solutions with our talent tech partners by delivering STARs data and insights – enhanced by generative AI – through our “STARSight” tools and APIs.
STAR-Centered Networks
Opportunity@Work activates multi-sector networks – such as our Tear the Paper Ceiling Coalition and our STARs Public Sector Hub – across public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations to pilot and mainstream skills-first practices.
