Our Research
Working towards an inclusive labor market
Our original research explores the drivers of STARs economic mobility to identify the skills, jobs, and practices that can open promising pathways to STARs.
Featured Research

Rise with the STARs
Building a stronger labor market for STARs, communities, and employers
This report reveals the severe impact of employers excluding the talent pool of workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes instead of a bachelor’s degree

Reach for the STARs
Realizing the Potential of America’s Hidden Talent Pool
More than 70 million workers are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs). More than 30 million STARs have the skills today to perform higher-wage work.

Black Stars
Spotlight on Black STARs
This report shows the limited career opportunities experienced by Black STARs and points to pathways for mobility.
STAR Research Community
Activating a collaborative community of researchers
We conduct our own research, but that’s only the beginning. We also seek out and encourage the participation of research partners and collaborators.
Our goal? To inspire others to pursue new research—and question conventional wisdom on our workers, talent management practices, and workforce development. Over time, the available data and insights will multiply, delivering answers to every question that’s at the heart of economic mobility for STARs.

Peter Q. Blair, Tomas G. Castagnino, Erica L. Groshen, Papia Debroy, Byron Auguste, Shad Ahmed, Fernando Garcia Diaz & Cristian Bonavida
Searching for STARs: Work Experience as a Job Market Signal for Workers without Bachelor’s Degrees

Peter Q. Blair, Papia Debroy & Justin Heck
Skills, Degrees & Labor Market Inequality

McCann, Jones-Rooy, Nelson, Blair
Panelists from New York University, the University of Southern California, Stanford University and Harvard University produced 4 novel papers with important findings to support STARs’ equitable recovery across the policy lifecycle.
STARs Insights Advisory Panel
Our STARs Insights Initiative Advisory Panel is chaired by Dr. Erica Groshen, former Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and includes advisors with experience in labor economics, workforce development and the future of work across the public, private, and academic sectors.
Research Partners


