Listener supported WNYC Studios.

Brian Laird on WNYC.

So over the past few weeks, as many of you know, we've had a series of conversations about making a good living with a college degree.

We've talked about what it's like navigating the labor market without a four-year degree and what it takes to move forward in a system that often screens decent candidates out just because

they don't have the piece of paper.

Today we're asking, what would it take for public policy to truly reflect their reality?

In Washington, in state houses, and in local government, there's growing recognition that stars,

this population we've been talking about, stars an acronym for workers

who are skilled through alternative routes, are a large and often overlooked segment of the

workforce, and that policy changes could open up new opportunities for them, but the policies

that shape hiring, training, credentialing, and public sector employment don't always keep pace.

But also when we talk about people without college degrees and politics, you're probably thinking,

hey, that was such a defining demographic line between people who voted for Trump and people

who voted for Harris in the election, right? College or non-college?

So are Democratic and Republican ways to help Americans with no college degrees move up the

economic ladder any different? We're joined today by two guests, Blair Corcoran de Castillo,

Vice President of Public Sector and Policy at the

Group Opportunity at Work, which specializes in this topic, and Tony Garrardini, executive

director of the state of Colorado's Department of Personnel and Administration.

They have a Democratic governor, Governor Jared Polis out there.

We'll talk about what voters are saying, what states

like Colorado are doing, and whether this movement is gaining bipartisan momentum, or whether

...