For most American workers today, employment news is largely positive. Average hourly wages have grown faster than inflation for the past year. Although unemployment continues to inch up, it remains at near-record historic lows. In many respects, getting a good job with good pay seems easier than ever.
For employers, however, this robust American economy has generated tight labor markets, an ongoing shortage of skilled workers and a constant scramble for talent to help their businesses grow. Because the nation’s colleges and universities aren’t producing graduates nearly fast enough to meet demand, companies and state governments are reassessing the role of college degrees in hiring decisions and are increasingly turning to skills-based hiring to meet their talent needs.
The growing popularity of the skills-first moment marks a crucial and welcome turning point in our nation’s workplace history. For too long, degree requirements have served as roadblocks for millions of workers who seek better jobs and better pay.
Earl Buford
But this shift to skills-based hiring is not without risks. While this approach is opening more pathways to an increasing number of entry-level roles at companies large and small, continued degree requirements for upper-level positions close off opportunities for career advancement.
Without college degrees or credentials, these workers remain confined to these entry-level jobs. While the debate around skills-based hiring and the value of college degrees has devolved into a zero-sum game, there needs to be an understanding that college credentials and practical skills should be mutually reinforcing rather than mutually exclusive.
Instead of viewing skills-based hiring and degree attainment as being at odds, savvy talent development leaders are now building extended pathways to ensure that employees who lack a four-year college degree can continue to advance in their careers well after they are hired.
In today’s employment climate, there is growing momentum for skills-based hiring — that is, hiring individuals based on the skills and abilities they possess, not the degrees they have earned. Over the past two years, at least 20 states have eliminated degree requirements for significant numbers of public-sector jobs or are exploring this practice.
