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63 Management. <br />64 <br />65 Many employers require a college degree for positions that don't necessarily need a candidate to <br />66 have spent four or more years—and tens of thousands of dollars—attending college. Because Black <br />67 job candidates are less likely to hold a degree than white applicants, degree requirements can keep <br />68 skilled and talented workers out of certain positions, which lowers their earning potential and makes <br />69 creating diversified and inclusive workplaces more difficult for companies.” <br />70 <br />71 Research published in 2017 by the Harvard Business School shows that degree inflation in job <br />72 postings is pervasive. Sixty-seven percent of postings for new production supervisors in 2015 <br />73 included college-degree requirements, though only 16 percent of existing production supervisors had <br />74 bachelor's degrees. <br />75 <br />76 Requiring a bachelor's degree "has a disparate impact on Black Americans," Blair and Ahmed said. <br />77 They noted that among workers over age 25, U.S. census data shows: <br />78 40 percent of white adults hold at least a bachelor's degree. <br />79 26 percent of Black adults have a bachelor's degree or higher. <br />80 <br />81 Research findings that Blair, Ahmed and their colleagues published in March found that 16 million <br />82 U.S. workers with only a high school diploma have the skills for high-wage work, based on the skill <br />83 profile of their current jobs. However, 11 million of them are currently employed in low-wage or <br />84 middle-wage work. <br />85 <br />86 The city’s current compensation system assigns points to various criteria in order to determine the <br />87 position’s relative value to the organization and determine a hierarchy in the pay structure. Currently <br />88 our system weighs formal education heavily which has hindered the city’s ability to hire candidates <br />89 with less traditional skill development and experience. <br />90 <br />91 S TAFF R ECOMMENDATION <br />92 Staff and the City Manager reviewed proposals and interviewed the top two firms. Based on <br />93 feedback and interviews, staff is recommending that Council authorize the City Manager to enter <br />94 into a Professional Services Agreement with Abdo to conduct a classification and compensation <br />95 study in the amount of $56,700. <br />96 R EQUESTED C OUNCIL A CTION <br />97 By motion, authorize the City Manager to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with Abdo <br />98 to conduct a classification and compensation study in the amount of $56,700. <br />99 <br />Prepared by: Rebecca Olson, Assistant City Manager <br />Attachments: A: Abdo proposal and Addendum <br /> <br />Page 3 of 3 <br /> <br />