The relationship between education and the workforce is evolving.
As barriers to a traditional four-year degree—like rising costs and time commitments—have become more apparent, companies have begun shifting to adopt skills-first hiring practices.
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In fact, at the beginning of this year, research-advisory and consulting firm Gartner predicted that the shift to skills-based hiring from degree-based may become the norm—with the pursuit of nontraditional workers contributing to talent pipeline expansion.
Companies like IBM, Apple, and Google are just a few of the many Fortune 500 companies that have shifted away from longstanding degree requirements for some positions. And, the World Economic Forum notes that the adoption of a skills-first approach can help contribute to a more highly-skilled and inclusive workforce—thus benefiting the economy and society overall.
For these reasons, in part, a skills-first approach is becoming an increasing priority for Deloitte—one of the largest professional services companies. According to Kwasi Mitchell, the company’s chief purpose and DEI officer, workforce development is changing rapidly and causing companies to reevaluate what people’s skill sets can bring to the table.
“I feel like there are distinct breakthroughs that are transforming the way that business is being conducted and that the way that the world works,” Mitchell tells Fortune. “But it’s being invented in the moment, right? That requires a multitude of different types of ways that people can learn beyond just a traditional four-year degree. And, the other thing that I think is interesting is just the generational differences in the way that people like to learn.”
The company is thus now looking more closely at experiences beyond four-year or advanced degrees—like certifications and upskill training.
Creating an equitable workforce
Some of the criticisms of higher education, like rising costs and lack of student support, has created an environment that lacks equity, according to some experts.
But by placing less of an emphasis on the need for a four-year degree, there is a hope to create a more equitable workforce, Mitchell says.
One example of this commitment is the OneTen coalition. Deloitte is among a group of top companies seeking to close an opportunity gap by providing 1 million jobs to Black professionals over the next 10 years, specifically for those without four-year degrees.
As part of this pledge, Deloitte has removed four-year degree requirements for some job postings, partnered with Salesforce to create apprenticeships as well as training programs, and piloted skills-first endeavors.
“I think we are starting to build a portfolio that we have to meet the needs of our business for high demand opportunities, such as the work that we do with Salesforce and simultaneously, being thoughtful and considerate with respect to some of the traditional barriers that access to a four-year degree have made in locking high quality talent out of the market,” Mitchell says.
But as the world of education continues to evolve, Mitchell recognizes organizations and universities have already been receptive to change. Many institutions now offer new ways to learn—through certificates, immersive training programs, and online offerings—in topics that did not even exist as careers several years ago, like prompt engineering.
“I do believe that evolution is in process and that the more that you find the private sector, working with, you know, universities on the skills and also the experiences that they would like for people who are exiting those universities to have, the better,” he says.
And now more than ever, hiring managers are looking at the skill sets and life experiences, Mitchell adds.
“It’s a reorienting with respect to the way that distinct hiring and screening is occurring. But as you see more and more the ability for people to identify skills as the determining factor, rather than just that credential, which I think is going to be an evolution that will take a number of years, really to do this at scale,” he notes.
Billions of dollars in investment
Deloitte is putting its money where its mouth is in terms of emphasizing in the future of workforce development. The company is investing more two billion dollars that, in part, is contributing to both internal and external workforce development.
Through Project 120, $1.4 billion is being invested on educating the company’s existing workforce to help reskill and upskill them for emerging tech areas like AI and cloud, Mitchell says.
An additional $1.5 billion is being dedicated to the company’s commitment to social impact in areas such as financial inclusion, health equity, and education and workforce development.
Mitchell says it is important to recognize that a historic lack of emphasis in these areas has contributed to barriers for some people to build careers while also taking care of their own families. Addressing these challenges are hard and will take time, he adds, but is a key effort moving forward.
Challenges remain in making these strides at scale as well as creating shifts to skills-based society rather than focusing on credentials. But, with more pathways becoming available for people to get ahead in their careers, Mitchell says he is optimistic about the future of the relationship between education and the workforce.
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