The CEO of America’s largest bank wants schools to do more to prepare students for the job market, instead of leaving it to companies to close the gap.
Jamie Dimon has long advocated getting younger people into high-paying positions, and believes that schools should be monitored by whether their students go on to careers after graduation, not whether they go to college.
This week, Dimon – who oversees more than 240,000 employees worldwide – doubled down on that stance.
“Companies have to hire and train a lot of people, so if the school system doesn’t do that, it makes it harder for companies,” he told Axios in an interview released Thursday.
“What you need with a lot of these things are certifications and training to ensure they get the right job.”
Dimon — who received a record $36 million in 2023 for his work — also pushed back on the idea that his work to bring younger people and underrepresented communities into the workplace is an exercise in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
The Harvard Business School graduate spoke about his position as executive chairman of the New York Jobs CEO Council, a coalition of some of the largest employers in the Big Apple.
Also on the board of directors are Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
Dimon, a father of three, denied suggestions that his work on the council was related to DEI, a topic that divides opinion among the country’s top CEOs.
The JPMorgan Chase chairman said he was “not interested in labels,” adding that the jobs council “has nothing to do with DEI.”
“This has to do with the fact that the system is not working and needs to be repaired,” he said. ‘It’s part of our job [as CEOs and companies] to elevate society. Call it what you like… If we leave whole sections of society behind, we will make a big mistake for our country.”
Assessing school quality
Dimon’s sentiments echo thoughts he shared earlier this year about the factors to consider when determining whether a school is quality.
He told Indianapolis-based WISH-TV in March: “If you look at kids, they need to be educated to get a job. There’s been too much emphasis in education on getting a degree. It should be on jobs. I think the schools need to be focused on. Did the kids come out and get good jobs?”
Dimon pointed out that a 17-year-old bank teller could make $40,000 a year, adding: “And if you have a family or whatever at 18, you get $20,000 in medical benefits for your family. You can be a welder, you can be a coder, you can be cyber, you can be in automotive — all of those jobs are $40,000 to $60,000, $70,000 a year.”
“Jobs, jobs, jobs,” Dimon repeated. “There are a lot of efforts going on in the country, but I think as a nation we have fallen behind.”
Changing attitudes
It seems that students themselves also think differently about what they want to get out of their education.
Education data specialists National Clearing House reported in January that enrollment rose 1.2% in fall 2023 — the first time since the pandemic began.
But within that picture, there has been significant growth in vocational subjects: courses designed to help students learn in a practical way, preparing them for a skills-based role.
The database reported that enrollment at community colleges with a focus on professional education grew 16% over the same period, putting them above fall 2019 levels.
As Sam Pillar, co-founder and CEO of Jobber, wrote Fortune Earlier this month: “Homes and other infrastructure are aging. Today, the average owner-occupied home in the U.S. is 40 years old, meaning there is a growing need for repairs, maintenance, and renovation of the aging housing stock.
“At the same time, skilled workers are retiring and not enough young people are entering the profession to take their place… This is causing delays in services and driving up costs for consumers. The labor shortage is a major problem, but also a huge opportunity for ambitious young people to fill the gap. Fortunately, we see that Generation Z is showing interest in seizing this opportunity.”
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
