Our Research

Insight and strategies to build an inclusive and sustainable workforce by recognizing the skills and potential of STARs

Barriers and Breakthroughs: Framework to Improve STAR Economic Mobility

Reach for the STARs: Realizing the Potential of America’s Hidden Talent Pool

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Navigating with the STARs: Reimagining Equitable Pathways to Mobility

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Our data on STARs changed the national conversation around workforce.

Opportunity@Work’s analytical and research capabilities inform the nation’s understanding of STARs' potential in the labor market and uncover insights that show how to make positive economic change within regions and industries, and within groups of STARs.

Our research has been featured in:

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Article

Could one-year apprenticeships become a thing in tech?

The hot labor market drove a 41% increase last year in registered apprenticeship programs in tech fields.

Article

The Future Of Postsecondary Education Relies On Changing How We Hire

In 2023, America’s workforce stands at a fork in the road.

Article

Millions Have Lost a Step Into the Middle Class, Researchers Say (Published 2022)

The new figure points to the challenge for the majority of Americans who do not have a four-year college degree.

Video

Reach for the STARs Launch (March 12, 2020)

Hosted by Opportunity@Work’s Byron Auguste and Accenture’s Marty Rodgers, this event dove into the groundbreaking new research that reveals a hidden talent pool of 71 million U.S. workers who do not have four-year degrees — but are STARs and have the potential to thrive in higher-wage jobs.

Blogs

Who Are STARs?

In our inaugural post in the STARlight Blog Series, we made the case for building a STARs-powered economy to help us overcome the COVID crisis. As we move towards recovery, it’s important to understand STARs’ potential to move into better-paying jobs.

Article

We shouldn’t chase economic recovery; we should chase economic redesign

America needs to think differently about the value of jobs during the coronavirus recovery.

Article

Workers With Skills But No Degree

Do good jobs exist for those without four-year degrees? A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research sought to answer this question.

Paper

Searching for STARs: Work Experience as a Job Market Signal for Workers without Bachelor's Degrees

The demand for a skilled workforce is increasing even faster than the supply of workers with college degrees – the result: rising wage inequality by education levels, and firms facing a skills gap.

Article

The Disparate Racial Impact of Requiring a College Degree

Among U.S. workers over 25, only 26% of blacks, and 40% of whites, have a bachelor’s or higher.

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.

Our Research Partners

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.

Erica Groshen

Former Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Peter Q. Blair

Assistant Professor, Harvard University

STAR Stories

Read about the barriers, challenges, and possibilities that STARs are seeing today — and why they're hopeful for a brighter future.

Our Research

Our data on STARs changed the national conversation around workforce.

STAR Research Community

Activating a collaborative community of researchers

STARs Insights Advisory Panel

Erica Groshen

Peter Q. Blair

STAR Stories