Higher Ed Should Pay Attention to the Corporate World’s Growing Use of Skills Data

EdSurge

Sean Gallagher (Columnist)

August 10, 2023

Employers these days are moving to skills-based hiring — looking for signs that candidates have specific abilities rather than just checking for a college degree as a default qualification.

The embrace of competencies over credentials is driven by ongoing shortages of talent in many sectors, which was underlined just last week, when the U.S. Department of Labor reported a near-record 9.5 million job openings and a robust employment situation.

And government leaders are also pushing the trend: many state governors, for instance, have adopted skills-based hiring for state positions, and the U.S. House of Representatives’ Education and Workforce Committee is giving the approach attention.

Even with the momentum for skills-based hiring, though, degrees continue to be in demand and rewarded by employers with higher salaries. However, the educational alternatives to degrees, including various types of microcredentials, continue to grow — in part because they are more affordable, are often better connected to the needs of employers, and also because they are highly accessible and digitally delivered.

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