Technology is changing faster than any other time in history. The half-life of skills is shrinking, and traditional talent sources—colleges and universities—are struggling to adapt their curriculum fast enough to meet the demand for new workforce skills. Meanwhile, millions of workers are unable to access higher education because of the high cost of a degree.
As digital and AI trends continue to disrupt work, 85% of business leaders agree that the need for skills development will dramatically increase, according to a Gartner survey from June 2024.
Labor shortages have forced employers to rethink how they source talent and whether four-year degrees are really necessary for many roles. When employees shift their focus to skills, rather than degrees, they have access to larger talent pools. Over the past several years, well-known companies like IBM, Google, and Walmart announced moves to skills-based hiring, and 22 U.S. states have also announced plans to implement skills-based hiring for government jobs.
Unfortunately, the widespread support for skills-based hiring has not necessarily translated to implementation. According to a Gartner November 2023 survey, despite 74% of HR leaders believing that most organizations are moving to a skills-based talent management approach, only 2% have adopted a skills-based approach in all talent processes; 41% have adopted some skills-based processes, while 50% are thinking about adopting it but haven’t started yet.
To prepare for a future that values skills over degrees, HR leaders should be taking the following actions:
Evaluate role requirements
HR leaders should assess how current role requirements are serving hiring needs to inform if and where the organization can reduce or eliminate degrees. Traditional role needs often include preferred industry experience, work experience, candidate traits, preferred universities, skills, locations, and years of experience on top of any degree requirements.
The following are questions worth considering: