The term, new-collar workers, was introduced by the CEO of IBM in 2016, to refer to "middle-skill" occupations in technology, such as cybersecurity analysts, application developers, and cloud computing specialists. The term added to the existing terms -- white collar-workers and blue-collar workers.

New-collar workers is used more broadly now to refer to individuals who develop technical and soft skills needed to work in many industry sectors through nontraditional education paths.  These are often alternative paths that do not require a traditional baccalaureate degree though they may include an internship or apprenticeship to develop technical and soft skills; or may include re-skilling or upskilling of current employees. Examples of jobs are:  sonographer; pharmacy technician; medical assistant; field service engineer; dental assistant; and a range of technology-oriented jobs.

Trends in new-collar hiring are linked to skills-first hiring, which refers to employer hiring practices that create on-ramps for people previously overlooked in traditional hiring— to build a pipeline of capable non-degreed workers.  A skills-first approach creates entry points and on-ramps for newcomers of varied backgrounds, and also creates a skills-based approach to promotion and development for all employees. These processes enable companies to advance overlooked talent and increase racial and socioeconomic diversity in the entire workforce and the leadership pipeline.