Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a press conference at the Utah State Capitol on Thursday, March 3, 2022. Cox says the majority of the state's $5 million dollars allocated for flood relief efforts has gone to purchasing supplies and heavy machinery. (Mengshin Lin/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Spencer Cox announced Tuesday the state of Utah will be loosening its hiring requirements.
According to Cox, the state will no longer be requiring four-year degrees for potential employees. He said employers have been focusing too much on what is on a piece of paper and not on experience.
“There are different ways to learn,” the governor said. “There are different ways to get an education.”
Cox says this change will help find more diverse candidates. In addition, Cox says this will allow companies to focus on experience as much as they have on education.
“Instead of focusing on demonstrating competence,” he said. “The focus has often become on a piece of paper.”
The governor says the change will best benefit the Department of Workforce Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, and IT positions.
“When we’ve got jobs to fill, the state of Utah now reduces barriers to hiring by removing bias toward education requirements that cannot be tied to specific job duty or requirement,” he said.
Cox is encouraging hiring managers to consider comparable experiences as equal to educational qualifications.
The state will still require degrees for jobs that legally require an education to perform its duties.
Mark Jones contributed to this article.
Related reading: