The Hiring Debate: Are Skills More Important Than College Degrees?
Should degree-based hiring be the golden ticket for hiring decisions, or is it time to get rid of old traditions and re-evaluate the new qualifications for a job? Oftentimes employers will solely focus on the candidates with a degree on their resume rather than those with job-ready skills. But does having a college degree give an employer enough information about a candidate’s competency for the job? How valuable and relevant is a college degree in today’s job market? While college degrees have traditionally been the primary factor for hiring decisions, shifting towards skill-based hiring will allow a wider range of talent, increase efficiency in hiring practices while also improving the process to find the right fit for a job. Companies need to modernize their hiring practices and shift towards skill-based hiring to adapt to the rapidly changing job market.

Historically as the U.S. industrialized, there was a massive increase of professional roles like doctors, engineers, and teachers. College degrees were often used as a differentiator between those who could perform the job well, and those who couldn’t. For much of the 20th century this became the standardized practice for many companies and businesses. Many people believed that those without a college degree would struggle to find stable, high-paying jobs. In today’s rapidly evolving industry, jobs have started the shift from degree-based hiring to skill-based hiring and have seen countless benefits. Forbes magazine evaluates, “…when companies implement skills-based hiring, the quality of candidates increases…Employees without college degrees also tend to stay in their roles 34% longer than those with degrees” Forbes also estimates, “…the cost of a bad hire ranges from five to 27 times the amount of the person’s actual salary” (Castrillon). Skill-based hiring offers various advantages such as reducing the risk of a bad hire which will lower hiring costs, and offers a more stable workplace when an employee is able to stay at a company longer.

The shift from traditional hiring practices to modern hiring practices is needed for today’s rapidly evolving job industries. The rise of AI and green jobs are examples of the growing need to shift towards skill-based hiring. Matthew Bone noted, “…technology impacts the labor market in a way that is far from “skill neutral”; it reshapes and creates jobs, each with unique skill requirements beyond formal education” (Bone 6). This academic source presents a logical
argument that the creation of new jobs, which requires specific skills, is the result of technological advancements. The language Bone uses implies that the job market has evolved, making traditional hiring methods, like degree-based hiring, no longer sufficient. This argument encourages employers to modify their hiring practices and focus on the skills that are currently in demand.

What should be more valued by an employer? Skills or credentials? Valuing skills over degrees will open employers up to a new world of talent and diversity that possible candidates have to offer. Opportunity at work, a website that gives people a voice to share their setbacks in the job industry, shares LaShana Lewis’s story, “I had tried for many years to get jobs in the tech sector, only to be told that I could not get a job because I did not finish the degree. I was never
tested on my technical skills or made it past the first interview” (Mano). LaShana’s experience illustrates the issues she faced during the job hunt. She wasn’t offered high paying jobs or even an interview despite having technical coding and computer skills from a young age. However, despite this setback, LaShana has become the CTO of a start-up and the director of aerospace IT, all while she started her own business. Like the numerous companies that overlooked LaShana, and choose to focus on her lack of a degree rather than her exceptional skills, will set themselves up for future failure. As time goes on, and these industries evolve, companies that choose degrees over skills will become ill-equipped to meet the new demands of the job market and will miss out on highly talented candidates like LaShana.

How can companies incorporate skill-based hiring into their system of hiring decisions, and why should they? Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Robyn Grable has found that, “63% of employers face talent shortages, 94% of HR decision-makers have trouble finding qualified candidates” (Grable). The ongoing talent shortage and difficulty finding qualified candidates is reason enough to shift towards skill-based hiring. Companies can broaden their diversity, talent, and allow more inclusivity by looking at those who don’t have a college degree but possess the skills necessary to succeed at the job. There are many ways companies can move into skill-based hiring practices, digital badges are an easy way to show a candidate’s specific skill that a job might be looking for. According to Forbes magazine, “…76% of employers use some skills-based hiring to find new talent, with almost 55% using role-specific skills tests”
(Castrillon). As stated previously, it’s expensive when companies’ mis-hire an individual for a job position. Digital badges, “From an employer’s perspective…could become valuable sources of detailed information about each job candidate that would contain useful data beyond a set of formal degrees and achievements earned by an applicant” (Shelton 16-17). Shelton argues that digital badges, a certification given for the completion of a specific skill or ability, are an efficient way for employers to see if you are an exact fit for a job. This learning practice is perfect for industries that need individuals with particular skills for specific job roles. The requirement of digital badges on a resume can help a company reduce the risk from a potential mis-hire. Digital badges provide an employer with a detailed measure of a candidate’s abilities and skills that college degrees may not provide.

While a degree provides a certain level of knowledge for an employer, it may not align with the company’s needs. In fact, how many degree-holders actually use their degree in their work? According to recent data, “More than half of Americans who earned college diplomas find themselves working in jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree or utilize the skills acquired in obtaining one” (Cerullo 2024). This statistic supports my claim: there is a disconnect between
what a degree prepares you for and the job requirements that an employer is looking for. Employers are overvaluing college degrees when hiring an individual. The belief that a degree equates to being able to perform a job well is the cause for companies spending a large amount of money on mis-hires. Rhetoric plays a huge role in my argument of the effectiveness of skill-based hiring vs degree-based hiring. The language surrounding skill-based hiring focuses on
inclusivity, capabilities, and efficiency, offering a more effective strategy for the current evolving job market. Compared to degree-based hiring which stresses credentials and a formal education requirement. This language suggests that employers should reconsider the rigidity and outdated practices that come with degree-based hiring, as it may cause qualified candidates who have the correct skills to be overlooked.

Although many people advocate for skill-based hiring, there are still those that continue to believe a college degree is a necessary requirement for hiring decisions, as it provides an employer with a source of basic knowledge and commitment. Degrees were often seen as a standard benchmark that employers could trust to show a basic level of a candidate’s criteria. While it’s true that gauging a potential candidate’s skills and qualifications without a degree can
be difficult for an employer to do, there are effective ways around this issue. Employers can integrate other requirements from candidates like, digital badges, competency trials and questions during the interviewing process, or a skill-based assessment.

In a world where hiring decisions are based on resumes, degrees, and educational backgrounds, Google provides a refreshing approach, “Your skills, interests, and goals are the result of your life, your experiences, your triumphs, and your failures. If we hire you based on your skills, we’ll get a skilled employee. If we hire you based on your skills, and your enduring passions, and your distinct experiences and perspectives, we’ll get a Googler. That’s what we want” (Google). Google has successfully evaluated candidates through different skilled tests and assessments instead of relying solely on a college degree, while also offering a sense of value and worth for applicants aiming to become a “Googler”.

Ultimately, the shift to skill-based hiring is not just a trend, it’s an important and necessary growth to find the best qualified individual for our rapidly changing job market. After exploring the advantages that skill-based hiring offers- such as a wider range of talent, better fit for specific roles, increased employee retention, reducing the risk of a potential mis-hire and the cost this has on a company- it’s clear that skill-based hiring is overall a more effective and
efficient practice than degree-based hiring. However, despite these advantages some will still argue that a college degree is necessary when hiring because it shows a candidate’s capabilities. While this is true to an extent, skill-based hiring has been proven to be a more reliable method for finding talent and keeping up with the demand of today’s job market. As we continue to evolve, the question remains: Should college degrees still hold the ultimate path to success, or is
it time to move forward and rely on a candidate’s skills to determine the best fit for the job?

 

Work Cited
Bone, Matthew, et al. “Skills or Degree? The Rise of Skill-Based Hiring for AI and Green Jobs.”
arXiv.org, 2024, arxiv.org/pdf/2312.11942.
Castrillon, Caroline. “Why Skills-Based Hiring Is on the Rise.” Forbes, 12 Feb. 2023,
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Cerullo, Megan. “College Grads Are Overqualified for Many Jobs, Leaving Them
Underemployed.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 14 Sept. 2022,
www.cbsnews.com/news/college-grads-jobs-underemployed/.
Goli, Shravan. “Announcing Hiring Solutions.” Coursera Blog, Coursera, 13 Oct. 2020,
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Google. “How We Hire.” Google Careers, Google,
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Opportunity@Work. “STARS Stories.” Opportunity@Work, Opportunity@Work,
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About Time.” Discourse Magazine, 2 Oct. 2023,
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