Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) has dropped the bachelor’s degree requirements for staff members in her office, following similar steps from several governors who have lifted the requirements for state government employees.
“No career trajectory should be defined by a piece of paper — it should be determined by work ethic, life experience and ability to do the job,” Craig tweeted Friday. “I’m proud to announce today that a bachelor’s degree is not required for any job in my office.”
Craig said in a release that she will not require a bachelor’s degree for any position in her Washington, D.C., or Burnsville, Minn., offices. She said candidates will be evaluated based on their relevant work experience and training and called on other congressional offices to follow her.
The release states that Craig has pushed for “expanding educational opportunities beyond traditional four-year colleges” and investing in career and technical education and workforce training. She has also recently introduced legislation to expand enrollment in apprenticeships, the release points out.
In an interview with the Minneapolis-based NBC affiliate KARE 11, Craig said that the country needs to “rethink” the workforce, saying that relevant experience should be considered even if someone does not have a bachelor’s degree.
The outlet reported that Craig said 2 of her 15 staff members do not have bachelor’s degrees.
Several governors have removed four-year degree requirements for most state government jobs, including former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R).