The college-to-office path is dead: CEO of the world’s biggest recruiter says Gen Z grads need to consider trade and hospitality jobs that don’t even require degrees
Orianna Rose Royle
January 6, 2026
“People need to reflect on—taking a student loan, going to college and being trained or educated for a profession that is rapidly changing—whether that’s still the right path,” Sander van ’t Noordende, the global CEO of Randstad, told Fortune.
“We all grew up, with our parents saying, ‘go do something in college or university and then do something in an office,’ that path that used to work for a long time is starting to break,” he added.
“You already see that with the graduates finding it harder to find a job. You see that in professions like marketing, communications, design… just look at how good AI already is at some of that.”
Under his helm, the staffing company places around half a million workers in jobs every week—and he has bad news for those who have already forked out thousands for their degree in the hopes of nabbing a cushy office role: You may have more luck landing bartending, barista, or building jobs.
