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PLA in Today's World:
The following are actual ads that appear in CareerBuilder, Monster.com, and HotJobs:
- "Requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a related area"
- "Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience"
- "Business Marketing Degree or equivalent"
- "Masters or PhD degree or equivalent in Computer Science"
- "A Master's degree or equivalent technical training in Unix"
- "A 4-year degree or equivalent experience is necessary"
- "Minimum BS/BA degree or equivalent"
- "Associate Degree or equivalent"
Notice that they all mention "equivalent" or "equivalent experience." Our position at the NAOAA is that "equivalent" is a highly subjective term open to interpretation. Exactly who renders the verdict regarding whether your skills are "equivalent" to a degree? A hiring manager. This arbitrary practice of deciding your abilities and fate based on the whim of a hiring manager occurs every day at hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of businesses around the country and world. Companies want their employees to have a degree or equivalent experience. And whether you indeed have that equivalent experience is determined by the hiring manager. We at the NAOAA contend that most hiring managers are simply not qualified to determine whether or not your skills and life experiences are equivalent to a degree.
Such a dubious system exists because there has been no central national agency founded for the express purpose of credentials assessment until now, with the advent of the NAOAA. When attempting to compete in the job market, people need educational and occupational credentials that certify their qualifications. The increasing mobility of the labor force and the need to make educational qualifications portable across state and international borders are factors contributing to a widespread concern about the procedures used for assessment.
The complexity and diversity of policy and practice in the assessment and recognition of credentials have generated a number of attempts to clarify the process and to determine how access to education, professions, and trades can be improved. In some companies, managers have established specific credentials assessment criteria. Other companies are exploring possibilities and needs in this area. In some cases, intercorporate agreements have been reached that improve mobility across corporations for certain occupational or academic credentials.
The NAOAA's role in reforming and assuring the integrity of this process is to provide the valuable training necessary for managers and educators to accurately and succinctly evaluate the qualifications of people who have obtained their education and work experience outside the classroom. The NAOAA issues certificates of completion to participants who successfully fulfill the requirements of the NAOAA program.
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