Skills-First Hiring is the Future

More companies are transitioning away from degree requirements

Skills-First Hiring Is the Future

More companies are transitioning away from degree requirements

Competition for talent is at an all-time high, with many employers struggling to fill essential roles. A Business Insider article stated that following the Great Recession, the number of job postings requiring a college degree peaked, and today, 44% of recent job postings require a bachelor’s degree. Degree requirements exclude many capable individuals from positions for which they are otherwise qualified, and as talent shortages persist, many organizations are moving away from traditional degree requirements to skills-based hiring.

Major companies including IBM, Dell, Bank of America and Google have dropped degree requirements, while the state governments of Alaska, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Utah in the US have relaxed requirements for public jobs in response to talent shortages. And as talent shortages persist into the future, skills-based hiring will likely continue to rise in popularity.

Sources: HR Dive, Forbes, Business Insider, Harvard Business Review, Burning Glass Institute, General Assembly

Skills-based hiring is not a new phenomenon.

Despite the attention skills-based hiring has received in recent months, employers have been moving away from degree requirements for some time now. A study conducted by the Burning Glass Institute found that degree requirements were relaxed from 46% of middle-skill jobs and 31% of high-skill jobs between 2017 and 2019.

Relaxing degree requirements broadens the talent pool.

Degree requirements can place companies at a competitive disadvantage. College degrees are not necessarily indicative of a candidate’s ability to perform a role, and requiring a college degree shuts out qualified candidates whose skill set aligns to the role. Compared to individuals with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, individuals with only an upper secondary education have a higher unemployment rate, but the lack of a degree does not necessarily indicate a lack of skill. Many individuals obtain valuable experience through community college, military service and on-the-job experience, and they have the necessary skills to perform roles they might otherwise be disqualified from due to a lack of a bachelor’s degree.

Retraining hiring managers is essential.

In a survey conducted by General Assembly, 90% of hiring managers state that they are extremely, very or somewhat concerned that current recruitment strategies will not be enough to fill open tech positions, but only 23% of hiring managers have revised job requirements to be more inclusive of individuals without college degrees. Embracing hiring strategies that include on-the-job training, apprenticeships and hiring from training bootcamps all broaden the pool of available talent. At the same, it is also essential that hiring managers receive training and are provided with tools such as evaluation rubrics that can help prevent bias towards candidates with degrees.