In the checklist of requirements for an ideal candidate, a degree is sliding down the priority list for employers, a LinkedIn vice president believes.
“The difficulties we face as we struggle to fill roles, weather economic shifts, and create a diverse and resilient workforce will only grow unless we change our approach to finding and nurturing talent,” Sue Duke, vice president and head of global public policy at LinkedIn, told CNBC Make It.
It’s why, she claims, skills-based hiring is becoming increasingly popular among businesses, with 45% of companies explicitly using skills-related metrics to find candidates according to LinkedIn data—12% more than a year ago.
Skills-based hiring is good news for most, except new grads
Skills are currently ranking higher than degrees for some prospective employers because it gives them a competitive edge over graduate-focused competitors, Duke explained.
“Our research showed a skills-first approach could increase the global talent pool by nearly 10-fold. And a larger talent pool means less competition with other companies over the same candidates,” Duke said.
As well as increasing the breadth of opportunity on offer to job seekers, it also makes the application process more transparent, Duke believes.
“It levels the playing field for workers who may have been overlooked,” Duke said. This includes people who have not attended or completed university, women, and younger generations.
But the inclusive practice could present a major problem for fresh-faced COVID-era graduates, who have a shiny new bachelor’s degree but may lack basic soft skills as they enter the job market.
Not everyone agrees with Duke.
Earlier this year recruitment experts told Fortune that Ivy League degrees are still definitely worth their eye-watering price tag.
“It would be amiss of me to say that an Ivy League school does not jump out to a hiring manager when on a CV,” said Pete Milne, managing director of global recruiters Robert Walters’ North America division. “Not so much in the case of favoritism, but such schools are rarely seen and continue to have a fantastic reputation for producing some of the country’s brightest minds.”
Employers are having to step in to plug the skills void
As the class of 2023 readies to enter the workforce, employers have taken note that they have “less confidence doing the basic tasks” that are necessary to navigate the workplace.
Fortunately—for new recruits—employers are so desperate that they’re stepping in and helping to plug the skills gap among their workforce.
Take three of the world’s Big Four accounting firms, for example: Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG, which are all reportedly offering new hires various introductory training classes.
Topics include how to talk to people in person, how to speak up in meetings, and when to make eye contact.
Similarly, the consulting company Protiviti has expanded its training for new hires to include a series of virtual meetings that focus on issues like how to make authentic conversation and how to tone an email, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As Jackie Henry, Deloitte’s U.K. managing partner for people and purpose, told the Financial Times: “There is a greater need for employers to provide training on basic professional and working skills, that wasn’t necessary in prior years.”
