Repeatedly, employers mentioned a common list of skills they look for in their middle-skilled employees: highly job-specific skills; motivation and interpersonal skills to enable them to work cooperatively; aptitude and "common sense," especially the ability to apply knowledge in complex situations; basic skills, whose deficiencies generated more complaints than any other subject; and computer-based skills. However, one inconsistency among employers became glaringly obvious: At the same time that some stress the specific skills necessary for entry-level work and bemoan the presence of extraneous theoretical and "academic" requirements in educational institutions, others emphasize broader and more "academic" capacities--those more necessary for promotion than for entry-level jobs.
Because of the importance of very specific skills and personal attributes like motivation, most employers in sub-baccalaureate labor markets rely on experience in hiring. Formal schooling may provide an edge among applicants of similar experience, but it is difficult to compensate for the lack of experience with additional schooling. As a result, sub-baccalaureate credentials are not valuable except for the skills they provide--skills which can be learned in several alternative ways. There are some exceptions: In most areas, electronics technicians require associate degrees; health workers require certain credentials to be licensed; employers in Cotooli typically hire substantial fractions of their workers through co-op programs; and some employers have established good working relations with particular community colleges. However, the dominance of experience means that the value of sub-baccalaureate education in gaining individuals access to stable employment is varied and uncertain.
Partly because of the reliance on experience rather than formal schooling, a majority of employers were not knowledgeable about local education providers and were indifferent to them. The exceptions were Cotooli, where the co-op programs have structured close working relations, and a few other cases (notably in technical fields like electronics) where employers rely on local community colleges. Short-term job training programs and proprietary schools fared even less well: From the vantage of employers, they are virtually invisible.
Once employed, promotion takes place informally and entirely because of on-the-job performance. This places a great premium on performance and on the ability to master the additional skills necessary for promotion. It also clarifies the role formal education can play in sub-baccalaureate labor markets. It can under certain conditions gain access for individuals to entry-level jobs from which they can move upward with experience and on-the-job training; however, but there is no substitute for having the wide range of capacities required in modern production.
Several trends in sub-baccalaureate labor markets are disquieting: the increasing use of temporary employment; an inflation in the requirements for "entry-level" jobs; shorter job ladders; the inflation of education requirements, with the best jobs now requiring baccalaureate degrees; and the emergence of customized training, a possible harbinger of a two-track employment system.