HavarvrdBusinessschool

ManagingtheFutureofwork

s

6THrnin

INSTITUTE

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfrom

PronouncementstoPractice

EmployersareDroppingDegreeRequirementsButAreTheyChangingHowTheyActuallyHire?

MattSigelman(TheBurningGlassInstitute)

JosephFuller(HarvardBusinessSchool)

AlexMartin(TheBurningGlassInstitute)

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

Acknowledgments

TheauthorswouldliketothankBurningGlassInstitutecolleaguesErikLeiden,Gad

Levanon,andShrinidhiRaofortheirvaluablecontributionstothisreport.WewouldalsoliketothankLightcastforprovidingaccesstothejobpostingsdatasetsthatwereusedinthisanalysis.

SuggestedCitation

Sigelman,M.,Fuller,J.,Martin,A.(February2024).Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice.PublishedbyBurningGlassInstitute

TableofContents

ExecutiveSummary 4

DegreeInflationandtheShifttoSkills-BasedHiring 6

AreSkills-BasedHiringCommitmentsTranslating

toMeaningfulAction? 9

WhyThisMattersBothforCompanies&Workers 14

WhichRolesAreBestPositionedforSkills-BasedHiring? 15

Conclusion 16

Appendix:MethodologicalNote 17

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

3

4

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

ExecutiveSummary

Formanyemployersinrecentdecades,addingcollegedegreerequirementsseemedanefficientfilter.More

proxythandirectmeasure,degreeswereperceived

asindicatorsofpersistence,offoundationalskill,andofgeneralcapability.Forhiringmanagerswho

themselveshadtraveledthatcursushonorem,itseemedonlynaturaltovaluetheimpliedendorsementof

collegeadmissionsofficersandthepresumedrigorofthecollegeexperienceasaneffectivewayofseparatingthewheatfromthechaff.

Shortageshaveawayofincitingchallengestotired

assumptions.Inthetightlabormarketthatemerged

leadinguptothepandemicandthatreturnedduringtherecovery,hiringhasbecomeakeyoperational

challenge,causingemployerstoreevaluatetheir

requirements.Inthefaceofthesepressures,ithas

becomeincreasinglydifficulttojustifyafilterthat

summarilydisqualifiestheroughlytwo-thirdsof

Americans(62percent)wholackadegree.Atthesametime,agrowingfocusonequitycommitmentshas

causedemployerstoquestionpracticesthatlikelycontributedtosuppressingbroaderrepresentation.

Amidstthisbackdrop,theSkills-BasedHiring

movementhasgainedmomentum,asmoreandmoreemployerscommittedtostrippingdegreerequirementsfromtheirpostings,replacingtheproxyofacollege

degreewithactualevaluationsofcandidateskill.

Aninitialflurryofhigh-profilepronouncementsby

private-sectorandgovernmentemployersalikehas

becomeablizzard.Butdotheseproclamationsresultinarealincreaseinaccessforworkers?

ThefirstplacetolookwhentrackingprogresstowardSkills-BasedHiringisinthejobadvertisementsof

employers.Areemployersactuallyremovingdegree

requirementsfromtheirjobads?Onthis,theanswerisaresoundingyes,evenifmuchroomforimprovementremains.From2014to2023,weobservedanalmost

fourfoldincreaseintheannualnumberofrolesfrom

whichemployersdroppeddegreerequirements,albeitdownsomewhatfromapeakin2022.

Whilethisisanencouragingtrend,thereisabig

differencebetweenchangingajobadandchangingthetypesofcandidatesultimatelyhiredforarole.Thatbegsthequestion:Whenfirmsdropdegreerequirements

fromtheirpostingsdotheyactuallyhiremorecandidateswithoutdegrees?

Onthismeasureofreal-worldresults,thedatashow

thatwehaveabigdistancetogo.BurningGlass

InstituteandHarvardBusinessSchoolManaging

theFutureofWorkProject’sresearchersstudieda

sampleof11,300rolesatlargefirms(definedasagivenoccupationatagivenemployer)forwhichwecould

observeameaningfulvolumeofhiringforatleastoneyearbeforeandafterwhenafirmremovedadegreerequirement,evidencedintheInstitute’sdatabaseofthecareerhistoriesof65millionUSworkers.Wefindthatonaverage,firmsincreasedtheshareofworkerswithoutaBAhiredintotheserolesbyabout3.5

percentagepoints.

Forallitsfanfare,theincreasedopportunitypromisedbySkills-BasedHiringwasborneoutinnoteven1in700hireslastyear.

However,whenconsideringthatthis3.5-pointshift

appliesonlytothe3.6percentofrolesthatdroppedarequirementduringthattime,theneteffectisachangeofonly0.14percentagepointsinincrementalhiringofcandidateswithoutdegrees.Overall,byourestimates,thathastranslatedtonewopportunityforonly

approximately97,000workersannually,outof77

millionyearlyhires.Putdifferently,forallitsfanfare,theincreasedopportunitypromisedbySkills-BasedHiringhasborneoutinnoteven1in700hireslast

year.Justasimportantly,thatprogressisn’tshareduniformlyacrossallfirmsthatadoptedskills-basedpolicies.Rather,wefoundthatnearlyallofthe

5

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

changeinactualhiringwasdrivenby37percentofthefirmswestudiedthatremoveddegreerequirements.Ouranalysisrevealedthreecategoriesoffirmsbasedontheactualhiringoutcomesofthesepolicychanges:

?Skills-BasedHiringLeaders:Thesefirmsaremakingrealchange,increasingtheirshareofworkershiredwithoutBAsintheroleswe

analyzedbynearly20%.

?InNameOnly:Approximately45%offirmsseemtomakeachangeinnameonly,withno

meaningfuldifferenceinactualhiringbehaviorfollowingtheirremovalofstatedrequirementsfromtheirpostings.

?Backsliders:Thefinalgroupoffirms,comprisingapproximatelyone-fifthoffirmsanalyzed,makeshort-termgainsinrealizedjobaccessibilityaftertheydropdegreerequirements,butthechange

doesn’tstick.Infact,inthelongrun,thesefirms

winduphiringasmallershareofworkerswithoutBA’s.

Ouranalysismakesclearthatsuccessfuladoption

ofSkills-BasedHiringinvolvesmorethansimply

strippinglanguagefromjobpostings.Tohireforskills,

firmswillneedtoimplementrobustandintentional

changesintheirhiringpractices–andchangeishard.Still,despitethelimitedprogressto-date,ouranalysisshowsthat,forthosewhoembraceit,skills-based

hiringgoesbeyondcorporatevirtuesignaling.Ityieldstangible,measurablevalue.Skills-BasedHiringboostsretentionamongnon-degreedworkershiredinto

rolesthatformerlyaskedfordegrees.AtSkills-BasedHiringLeaderfirms,non-degreedworkershavea

retentionrate10percentagepointshigherthantheirdegree-holdercolleagues.Workersbenefitaswell.

Non-degreedworkershiredintorolesthatpreviouslyrequireddegreesexperiencea25percentsalary

increaseonaverage.

Thiswin-winoutcomesuggeststhatSkills-Based

Hiringshouldcontinuetogainmomentum,despite

itsslowstart.Byouranalysis,Skills-BasedHiring

practicescouldbereadilyimplementedinaminimumofanother250,000jobseachyear,rangingfrom

constructionmanagerstowebdevelopers.Inthisstudy,wewillsharewhichoccupationsarebest

positionedtotransitiontoskills-basedhiringandidentifyexamplesoffirmsthatareleadingtheway.

6

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

DegreeInflationandtheShifttoSkills-BasedHiring

Startinginthelatterhalfofthe20thcentury,

theUnitedStateshasexperiencedasurgeinthe

percentageofAmericanswhohavegraduatedfromcollege,fromjust8percentin1960to38percent

in2022.Whileinmanywaysthisconstituteda

triumphofeducationalaccessthatprovedaboon

forthecompetitivenessofthenation’sworkforce,

thisgrowthineducationalattainmenthasalso

broughtaboutasignificantrisein“degreeinflation.”Manyemployersbeganaddingdegreerequirementstojobsthathadn’tpreviouslydemandedone,eventhoughtheunderlyingtasksremainedunchanged.

TheeducationalprofileoftheUSworkforce

changedfarfasterthanitsoccupationaldistribution.Employersbegandemandingdegreeholderssimplybecausetheycould.Thishasbeenperniciousbothtothosewithdegreesandthosewithoutone.Justas

manynon-degreedworkersnowfindthemselves

shutoutofthekindsofjobsthatwerelongthe

steppingstonestoupwardmobility,manygraduatesnowwindupinjobstheirparentscouldhavegottenwithoutincurringthecostintimeandtreasure

ofcompletingacollegeeducation.Degree-based

approaches,deeplyrootedintraditionaleducationalparadigms,cametodefinecorporaterecruitment

strategiesfordecades.

Today,newmarketdynamicshavemotivated

employerstorevisithiringparadigms.Inan

historicallytightlabormarket,employershave

beguntoquestioniftheconstraintstheyhave

imposedarecreatingtheveryshortageofcandidatestheyhavedecriedtopolicymakers,educators,

andthemedia.Togetherwiththewidespread

acknowledgmentoftheneedtoadvanceworkforceequity,employersareshiftingtowardsskill-focusedhiringmodels.

Skills-BasedHiringmarksasignificantdeparture

fromtheconventionalemphasisondegrees.Itarisesfromagrowingrecognitionthatskillsandpracticalexperiencecanbeatleastasvaluableasformal

educationinreadyingacandidateforaposition.

Thischangeisdrivenbyseveralfactors,includingtheincreasingdemandfordigitalproficiency

inanever-greaterpercentageofpositions,the

recognitionofdiverseandnon-traditionallearningpathways,andadeeperunderstandingofthe

specificcompetenciesrequiredintoday’semergingoccupations.Rapidgrowthinonlinelearning

platformsandcredentiallingprogramsproviding

alternativepathwaystoskillacquisitionhashelpedfacilitatethistransition.

TheBurningGlassInstituteandtheHarvard

BusinessSchoolProjectonManagingtheFuture

ofWorkhavewrittenextensivelyonthistrend.Inearly2022,“

TheEmergingDegreeReset

”mappedprogresstodateinemployersdroppingdegree

requirements,whilealsohighlightingfieldsmostripeforcontinuedchange.Specifically,itidentifiedoccupationswithasizabledegreegap–thatis,a

widedisparitybetweentheprevalenceofdegree

requirementsinjobpostingsandthelevelof

attainmentofincumbentworkers.Twoyearslater,thatdisparitypersists.AsshowninFigure1below,thereremainsubstantialmismatchesacrossmanyoccupationsinanarrayoffields.

7

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

FIGURE1:Postingsrequiringadegreev.workerswithadegree,byoccupation

Webdesigners

HRmanagers

Industrialdesigners

Insuranceunderwriters

Logisticians

Facilitiesmanagers

91%

71%

88%

72%

85%

72%

77%

61%

76%

46%

56%

39%

%ofpostingsrequiringBA

Source:BurningGlassInstituteanalysisofLightcastjobpostingsdata

%ofworkerswithBA

ThetrendtowardadoptingSkills-BasedHiring

practiceshascontinuedtogainmomentumas

stategovernments,techfirms,andMainStreet

industrieshaveallpubliclyremovedrequirementsforthousandsofjobs.Infact,amongtherolesthat

fitthestrictrequirementsofoursample,thenumberofrolesnolongersubjecttodegreerequirements

increasedalmostfourfoldsince2014,down

somewhatfromapeakin2022.Butplacedagainstthebackdropofthemillionsofrolesemployershireforannually,Skills-BasedHiringhasmadeonly

modestinroads.Controllingforoccupationalmix,thepercentageofjobpostingsthatrequireacollegedegreehasonlyfallenby3.6percentoverthat

period.

FIGURE2:Rolesinsamplethatremovedrequirementsperyear

6k

4k

2k

0

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Source:BurningGlassInstituteanalysisofLightcastjobpostingsdata

8

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

Whilemoreandmoreemployershaveabolished

policiesrequiringdegreesataninstitutionallevel,

thejobpostingisonlythefirststepinthehiring

process.Inmostcases,itisarepresentationofthe

minimumqualificationsrequiredforacandidatetobeconsidered.Inothers,itisasummaryofideal

attributes,whetherornotrealistic.Eitherway,firmsmuststillsortthroughapplications,screen

candidates,andassesstheircapabilities,applying

criteriabothstatedandunstated,bothobjectiveandimpressionistic.Muchislefttothejudgmentoftheindividualhiringmanager—thepersonwhowill

superviseonaday-to-daybasistheemployeeoncehired.Thatiscritical.Hiringis,afterall,arelative

phenomenon.Ahiringmanagerisnotcomparinga

candidateagainstanabstractconceptofwhatajobrequires.Ahiringmanageriscomparingacandidatewithothercandidatesfromthepoolavailable.Evenwhenadegreeisnolongerrequired,itisstilla

heuristichiringmanagersarelikelytousetoweigha

candidate’sstrengthsandtoassesstheriskinherentinchoosingonecandidateoveranother.Eachstepinthehiringprocess,therefore,placesgreaterresponsibilityinthehandsofhiringmanagers.Astheprocess

unfolds,theyareunderincreasingpressuretomakeachoiceinordertofillanexpensivevacancyandtolimitthecostofthehiringprocess.Thatprovidesasubtle,

butrealincentivetoreverttorelyingonproxies,

ratherthanengageinthehardworkofassessinganindividualcandidate’sstrengthsandskills.

Measuringtheprogressoftheskills-basedhiringmovementbytrackingthenumberofemployersthateliminatedegreerequirementsisanecessarypreconditionformakingsubstantiveprogress.

However,itdoesnot,inandofitself,represent

substantiveprogress.Analyzingactualhiringpatternsforindicationofwhetherfirmsarechangingwhom

theyarehiringistheonlytruemeansofassessingtheactualimpactofcorporatecommitments.

Evenwhenadegreeisnolongerrequired,itisstillaheuristic

hiringmanagersarelikelytousetoweighacandidate’sstrengths

9

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

AreSkills-BasedHiringCommitmentsTranslatingtoMeaningfulAction?

ToidentifywhereSkills-BasedHiringismovingthe

needleforworkeraccess,wetrackedover11,000uniquerolesforwhich:

?theemployerdroppeddegreerequirementsin

2014orthereafter;and

?asufficientvolumeofhiringwasobservableforatleastoneyearpriortotheyearinwhichthe

requirementwasdroppedandforatleastoneyearafterwardssothatwecouldobservelong-term

changesinbehavior

Wethenmatchedtheserolestoactualhiresintotheserolesbeforeandaftereachpolicychange,basedon

thestartdatesreportedinonlinecareerhistories

ofworkersintheserolesfromtheBurningGlass

Institute’sdatabaseofthecareerhistoriesofover65

millionUSworkers.Basedonthisanalysis,wewereabletoassesshoweachfirm’sactualhiringchangedafteradoptingSkills-BasedHiringpolicies.We

foundwidelyvaryingresults.

Inaggregate,weobservedabouta3.5-percentage

pointchangeintheshareofnon-degreedworkers

hiredintotherolesaftertheadoptionofsuchpolicychanges.Thatmeansforevery100jobopportunitiesthatforwhichtheBArequirementwasremoved,wewouldexpectroughly4morenon-degreedworkerstobehiredthanwouldhavebeenbeforedegree

requirementswereremoved.Itisasignificantshift,butmodest–lessthanaquarterofwhatcouldhavebeenrealizedifallemployershadmadethesame

levelofchangeasdidthetopthirdoffirmsinoursample.

FIGURE3:ShareofNewHireswithaBABeforeandAfterDroppingDegreeRequirementsFromJobAds

57%

56%

ShareofhireswithBA

55%

54%

53%

52%

-2-1012

Yearsrelativetorequirementchange

10

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

Intriguingly,resultsvarysignificantlyacross

employers.Ouranalysisrevealsthreedistinctclustersamongthosethathavedroppeddegreerequirements.

Thirty-sevenpercentoffirmsinouranalysisfollowedthroughandmadetangiblechangeintheprofileof

thosetheyhiredsubsequenttorevisingtheirpostings.Intheyearsfollowingthechangeinrequirements,thesefirms,whichwelabelSkills-BasedHiringLeaders,

onaveragehired18percentmorenon-degreed

workersintotherolesfromwhichtheydropdegreerequirements.Manyofthesefirmsaresmallerfirms.

However,thelistofSkills-BasedHiringLeadersalso

includesarangeofmajoremployers,includingKochIndustries,Walmart,Apple,GeneralMotors,Target,

Cigna,TysonFoods,ExxonMobil,andYelp,aswellasgovernmentemployersliketheStateofMinnesotaandtheCityofDenver.

FIGURE4:SKILLS-BASEDHIRINGLEADERS

ShareofNewHiresWithaBAin

RolesthatRemovedRequirements

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Yelp

-2-1012

Saks

-2-1012

Cigna

-2-1012

Yearsbefore/afterpolicychange

11

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

Thelargestgroupoffirmsinourstudy,comprising45%ofoursample,adoptedSkills-BasedHiring

InNameOnly.Thesefirmsremoveddegree

requirementsfromtheirjobpostings,butshowed

littlechangeinactualhiringpatterns.They

continuedtohirethesameshareofdegreed

workersintorolesfromwhichtheyhadremoved

requirements.Infact,atmanyInNameOnlyfirms,

thehiringmixshiftedtowardbringingona

greatershareofpeoplewithdegrees.ThatmarketleaderslikeBankofAmerica,Amazon,Oracle,

LockheedMartin,Kroger,andStellantishave

struggledtofollowthroughonsincerepublic

pronouncementsdemonstratesthatskills-based

hiringrequiresbothdeepcommitmentacrosstheorganizationandaconcreteplanfortacticalaction.

FIGURE5:SKILLS-BASEDHIRINGINNAMEONLY

ShareofNewHiresWithaBAin

RolesthatRemovedRequirements

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BankofAmerica

-2-1012

Oracle

-2-1012

LockheedMartin

-2-1012

Yearsbefore/afterpolicychange

12

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

Thefinal18percentofthefirmsweassessedare

theBacksliders.Thesefirmsremoveddegree

requirementsandmadeinitialprogressinhiring

non-degreedworkers,butlaterrelapsed,with

ratesofnon-degreedhiringdroppingbacktopriorpattern.Backslidersincludesuchcompaniesas

Nike,Uber,HSBC,Novartis,DeltaAirLines,Meijer,andUSFoods,aswellasgovernmentagenciesliketheCommonwealthofMassachusetts.Whilethe

explanationundoubtedlydiffersateachoftheseorganizations,itseemslikelythatinitialexecutiveenthusiasmdidnottranslatetonecessarychangeinunderlyingsystemsandpractices.Without

institutionalizingsincereintentionsintotacticalprocesses,whatevergainstheseemployersmadewerelostonceleadership’sattentionshifted

elsewhere.

FIGURE6:SKILLS-BASEDHIRINGBACKSLIDERS

DeltaAirLinesNestléUber

ShareofNewHiresWithaBAin

RolesthatRemovedRequirements

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

-2-1012-2-1012-2-1012

Yearsbefore/afterpolicychange

Morestudyisneededastothefactorsthatcauseafirmtofallintooneofthesethreearchetypes.Butmanysectorsarerepresentedinallthreeclusters.

Industryisnotfatewhenitcomestoafirm’s

potentialtomakechangethroughskills-based

hiring.And,theanalysishassignificantsensitivitytotheoccupationalmixofthe11,300rolesforwhichwewereabletoobserveactualhires.Yet,certain

patternsemerge.AmongSkills-BasedHiring

Leaders,governmententitiesandaccommodationandfoodservicesfirmsareparticularlywell

represented.Utilitiesoftendemonstratedinitial

progress,withthegroupsplitbetweenSkills-

BasedHiringLeadersandBackslidersintermsof

theirprogress.Techfirmswereoverrepresented

withintheInNameOnlycluster.Overall,firmsin

theInNameOnlyarchetypestartedoutwitha

somewhatgreatershareofnon-degreedhiresbeforeredraftingtheirpostings,suggestingthatthepoolofcandidateswithoutdegreesbutwithattractiveskillsetsmayhavealreadybeenlargelytappedout.

13

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

EvenamongSkills-BasedHiringLeaders,weobservedconsiderabledifferencesacrosssectorsintheextenttowhichtheychangedtheshareofnon-degreedworkerstheybroughtaboard.AtRealEstateandWaste

Managementcompaniesthatfitthe“Skills-BasedHiringLeaders”category,theshareofnon-degreedhiresincreasedby33and30percentrespectively.

Amongmoreprevalentindustries,Skills-BasedHiringLeadersinInformation,Accommodation&Food

Service,andFinanceeachincreasedtheshareofnon-

degreedworkerstheyhiredby28percent,25percentand25percentrespectively,whileprofessionalservicesemployersincreasednon-degreedhiringbyonly14

percent.

FIGURE7:AverageDecreaseinBAShareinRolesthatDroppedRequirementsbyIndustry,amongSBHLeaders

ManagementofcompaniesandenterprisesRealestateandrentalandleasing

Administrative,support,wastemanagement,andremediationservicesOtherservices(exceptpublicadministration)Publicadministration

Information

Educationalservices

Accommodationandfoodservices

Financeandinsurance

Mining,quarrying,andoilandgasextraction

ConstructionWholesaletradeManufacturingRetailtrade

Healthcareandsocialassistance

Transportationandwarehousing

Professional,scienti?c,andtechnicalservicesUnclassi?edindustry

Arts,entertainment,andrecreation

33%

30%

29%

29%

28%

26%

25%

25%

24%

22%

22%

21%

18%

17%

16%

14%

10%

5%

39%

Despitecompaniesfromacrossthesearchetypesremovingdegreerequirements,only37percentofthem–theSkills-BasedHiringLeaders–achievedrealandsustainedchange.Infact,despitethe

growingattentionSkills-BasedHiringreceives,therehavebeennotablyfewincrementalnon-

degreedhires.And,evenwiththesecompanies

demonstratingleadership,weestimateonly97,000incrementalnon-degreedhiresoccurredin2023,outoftheestimated77millionhiresperyearreportedbytheBureauofLaborStatisticsinthatyear1.

1.Asshownearlier,weobservethatabout3.6%ofrolesremoveddegreerequirementsinthetimewindowofthisstudy,andthat—onaverage—theremovalofdegreerequirementsresultsina3.5percentagepointincreaseinnon-degreedworkers.ByextrapolatingthisanalysistothefullUSecosystemof770,000uniqueroles,weareabletoestimatethetotalimpactofskills-basedhiringto-date.

14

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

WhyThisMattersBothforCompanies&Workers

Despitelacklusterprogresstodate,wefindreal

returnstothefirmsthatdemonstratemeaningful

commitmenttoSkills-BasedHiringpractice.Our

analysisindicatesthatincreasingaccesscanbeawin-winforbothemployersandworkers.

?WhenworkerswithoutaBAstepintoarolethatpreviouslyrequiredadegree,theyexperienceonaverageanapproximately25%increaseinsalary,amountingtoover$12,400inincrementalearningsperyear.

?Employersbenefittoo.Thenon-degreed

candidatestheyhireintorolesthatdroppeddegreerequirementshavea10-percentagepointhigher

two-yearretentionratevs.theircollege-educatedcoworkers,a20percentincreaseinretention

(58percentvs.48percent).Giventhehighcosts

associatedwithattrition,skills-basedhiring

confersbusinessimpactevenbeyondexpanding

thesizeoftheeligibletalentpoolordemonstratingacommitmenttosocialprogress.

Employersbenefittoo.The

non-degreedcandidatesthey

hireintorolesthatdropped

degreerequirementshavea

10-percentagepointhigher

two-yearretentionratevs.theircollege-educatedco-workers

FIGURE8

Increaseinpay

fornon-degreed

hires

Two-yearretention

ratesfornon-degreed

v.degreedhires

+25%+20%

PREVIOUSROLE

NEW

ROLE

BASELINESBH

LEADERS

15

Skills-BasedHiring:TheLongRoadfromPronouncementstoPractice

WhichRolesAreBestPositionedforSkills-BasedHiring?

Noonewouldarguethatdegreesshouldbeirrelevanttothehiringofdoctorsorlawyers.Conversely/noone

wouldreasonablyarguethatdegreesshouldberequiredforshort–ordercooksorcashiers.Skills–basedhiring

strategiesaredesignedfortherolesthatfallinbetween-thosewheredegreedandnon–degreedworkers

havelonglaboredtogetherandwherethedegreeisamatterofemployerpreferenceandnotofnecessity.

Theoccupationsmostripeforsheddingdegree

requirementsarethosewherethereisasignificant

disparitybetweenthequalificationsemployersseekandtheprofileofthecurrentworkforce.

Theserolesarethe“l(fā)owhangingfruit”forskills–basedhiring.Theyareroleswithrobustnon–college

pathways/typicallyprovidedthroughthird–party

credentialing(e.g.//non–credit’programsatcommunitycolleges/forprofitskillsproviders/lastmiletraining

FIGURE9

OccupationNumberofincrementaljobsthatrequiredegrees

programs/etc.)oron–the–jobtraining.

Thoseexperiencesofferemployeesandaspiring

workersviablealternativestocollegedegrees,as

borneoutbytherelativelylowprevalenceofcollege

graduatesamongworkerscurrentlyemployedin

thoseoccupations.Theseoccupationsgenerallyhavedegreerequirementlevelsbelowthe34%ofjobsthatrequireadegree.ComprisingoccupationsthatrangefromConstructionManagersandSalesSupervisors

toWebDevelopersandITHelpDeskSpecialists/

theseroles