Understanding Skill-Based Hiring Trends

🌟🌟🌟ATTENTION HIRING MANAGERS🌟🌟🌟 The traditional approach of choosing the right person for the job leans heavily on specific #experiences and direct background in a particular role. It's time to shift the focus towards a more holistic understanding of a candidate's capabilities, particularly emphasizing #TransferableSkills, power skills (#SoftSkills), and intrinsic qualities like #drive and #passion. ✅In today's fast-paced #work environment, the ability to adapt is crucial. #Candidates with strong transferable skills can quickly acclimate to new roles and #challenges, bringing an invaluable level of #flexibility. Skills such as #ProblemSolving, #CriticalThinking, and #adaptability aren't tied to a specific job but are essential in almost every role. ✅Power skills, like #communication, #teamwork, and #EmotionalIntelligence, are vital to the success of any #organization. These skills enable #employees to #collaborate effectively, navigate #workplace dynamics, and contribute to a positive work #culture. Unlike hard skills, which can be #learned and perfected over time, power skills are more innate and reflective of a person's #character and #attitude. ✅Focusing on what a candidate can achieve rather than what they have done before opens doors to a broader #talent pool. Candidates with the right attitude and a drive to learn can often outperform those with more direct experience but less enthusiasm. ✅When #promoting internally, organizations sometimes choose individuals without direct experience in the new role. These decisions are based on the understanding of the individual's broader skill set and potential. This same principle should apply to external #hiring. If an internal candidate can succeed with a learning curve, so can an external one. ✅Candidates from different backgrounds or #industries can bring new #perspectives and #ideas. This #diversity of thought fosters #innovation and creativity, helping #businesses to evolve and stay #competitive. A diverse workforce, in terms of skills and experiences, is a key driver for innovation. ✅As technology advances and industries transform, the nature of work changes. Focusing on transferable skills prepares organizations for future changes and challenges, as employees with these skills can more easily shift and grow with the company. So, while direct experience is valuable, it should not be the sole determinant in hiring decisions. Transferable skills, power skills, and personal attributes are equally, if not more, important. By broadening your perspective, you can fill the positions and contribute to building a robust, adaptable, and innovative workforce. It's time for a paradigm shift in hiring that values potential and adaptability as much as past experience.

Why skills-based hiring is your secret weapon! We’ve become obsessed with golden pedigrees, haven't we? - 40-50% of all job descriptions list a college degree, but - Only 0.203% of all jobs globally actually require a college degree. We are screening out incredible talent because of unnecessary requirements. We are dismissing the broader benefits of alternative education channels. And we are perpetuating existing inequalities. Especially if those degrees are not readily accessible to everyone. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau: - 69.2% of African Americans (ages 25-64) don't have a college degree. - 52.9% of non-Hispanic white Americans don’t have a college degree. The future of talent acquisition is about what candidates can actually do, not just where they went to school. If we focus on skills-based hiring, the benefits are huge! + 5x better predictor of job performance than degrees (McKinsey) + 19X increase in talent pool size (LinkedIn data) – meaning true diversity + 34% increase in retention (Harvard Business Review) Skills-based hiring focuses on what a person can do, not what they did in the past. Today’s science-based tools make that fast and easy. (And they are more accurate than hunches.) I created an infographic to break down the pros and cons of skills-based vs. degree-based hiring, giving you the intel to make informed decisions. Let's join Byron Auguste and #tearthepaperceiling What do you think? ****** P.S. Repost if you find this useful ♻️

Skill-based Talent Practices. This 56-page playbook has insights for implementing skill-based talent practices. The Business Roundtable Multiple Pathways Initiative developed it. Although I've shared this resource before, I still receive requests for it. It's based on insights from HR leaders implementing skill-based practices. The playbook addresses: 1️⃣ Strategic Planning ↳ Align skills-based practices with business strategy 2️⃣ Skills Validation ↳ Identify ways to assess and confirm employee skills more accurately 3️⃣ Opportunity Matching ↳ Connect employees with growth opportunities that align with their skills 4️⃣ Metrics that Matter ↳ Identify which measurements truly indicate success in skill-based approaches 5️⃣ Tech Enablement ↳ Explore how tech can help scale skill-based practices If you're moving more toward skills-based talent practices, consider first: ↳ What’s the “why” behind this shift? ↳ How is it different than what we're doing today? ↳ What business problems does this help us solve? ↳ In what ways will it create stakeholder value?   ↳ What are we basing these assumptions on? ↳ How will we measure the impact of these changes? Answering these questions upfront is critical. Special thanks to the Business Roundtable for making this playbook available. What's one key insight you took from this resource? ♻️ Repost to help others with skills-based practices 🔔 Follow Brian Heger for more P.S. - If you find value in resources like this, make sure you receive my Talent Edge Weekly newsletter. https://lnkd.in/dWThftwK #hr #humanresources #skills

Skills-based hiring was supposed to level the playing field for people who could not afford to go to college. Yet after years of dropping degree requirements, a new study has shown that in reality only 1 in 700 new hires have benefited from this trend. Why is the number so low? Having been on the hiring side of the equation I think I have the answer. We've misinterpreted the elimination of degree requirements as employer's openness to be more flexible about how they hire. We've substituted degrees with low-cost individual courses and stacked certificates. But in reality employers don't really care about the credentials. Sure, credentials can be a signal, especially if they are highly specialized and difficult to attain. But they are not a real indicator of what you can do. So what do employers really want, whether they outwardly say it or not? Evidence. Evidence that you have successfully applied the skills you have learned, no matter how you learned them. This is a frustrating reality for someone who doesn't have a lot of real work experience and is facing the chicken and egg problem that exists in employment markets. To everyone experiencing this frustration I usually say one thing: figure out a way to apply the skills you've learned in a real project. Even if the project short term (1-3 months), paid or unpaid, something you do for someone else or for yourself. When you're looking to hire talent as an employer your objective is simple. You want people who can immediately be productive and solve your day to day problems now. If we want to lean into the skills-based hiring trend and improve those numbers from 1 out of 700 people to something meaningful, we have to work on showing proof that the skills don't just exist on paper, but have been applied in the real world.

Time for a conversation... Skills-based is the recognition that career preparation and development can come in different modalities, and over the entirety of a lifetime. It is not skills versus degrees, but instead the building of a data supported language that crosses all forms of learning, employment, and service. It’s the recognition that the workforce of tomorrow is expecting on-demand, personalized experiences, which we can expect to go beyond their buying patterns to include how they spend their time in and out of work. The value of skills-based is all about the data: deeper, richer, machine-readable data sets at the micro and macro levels. Data that allows for the matching of an expanded talent pool (internal and external) to the right opportunity at the right time. Data that brings trusted visibility to gaps in workforce capabilities at the individual, employer, and community level. Data that is both readable by people and technology and goes deeper than what school a candidate attended and for how long. Building a skills-based workforce system is the recognition that a data informed talent structure comes with both a need for transformation in people practices and tech enablement. It builds a path to enable talent decision makers to leverage data in decision making, while also assuring data flows with candidates into the company and throughout their experience; truly powering pathways that are less and less linear. For this to be possible, scalable, each employer must take their own journey, with buy in from across the company, as this is not an HR problem, but instead an opportunity for the company. Additionally, to see this system truly maximized, it will take transformation across all ecosystems, which is where external engagement beyond internal implementation will be key.  

There is an ongoing shift away from traditional degree-centric hiring practices, with many states leading the charge in redefining qualifications for government positions. Maryland set the precedent in March 2022 by eliminating the four-year degree requirement for most state jobs, sparking similar actions in at least 10 other states. Tennessee took it a step further and banned bachelor's degree mandates for state employment. These changes aim to broaden candidate pools and prioritize skills over formal education credentials. Private sector giants like IBM and Google have also embraced skills-based hiring, ditching college degree prerequisites for certain roles. This is a seismic shift in talent acquisition strategies. Skills-based Hiring is The Future of Work!

Companies will need a robust internal recruiting motion based on skills. That's becoming clearer each day.   Josh Bersin's new HR predictions for 2024 list (see link in the comments) points out that companies are feeling the need to "hoard talent" and "grow through productivity."   At the same time, companies need to adapt and pivot products and services using an ever-changing mix of skills (and are only sometimes able to acquire those skill sets externally).   One exception is that some skill sets are available 'on loan' using flexible, freelance talent. But, for many companies, it'll pay to have processes and systems that make it easier to identify skill gaps and develop new skills as work demands shift.   How will these trends impact hiring strategies?   - Insight: Selection methods will need to include measures of foundational skills and abilities such as problem-solving and learning agility. - Insight: People analytics and TA specialists will focus on predicting retention as a key hiring success outcome. - Insight: Organizations that model work at a skill level will be best equipped to have the talent they need when they need it.

Embracing the Skills for the Future Imperative: Part 1 Traditional educational credentials are losing ground in a rapidly changing world of work shaped by emerging technologies and societal shifts. How can innovative skills assessment unlock new pathways for lifelong learning and career growth? Amit Sevak and Patrick Kyllonen’s "Charting the Future of Assessment" envisions a future where assessments focus on a new set of skills, leverage innovative measurement methods, and broaden the insights offered to test-takers. They suggest that emerging measurement systems can help individuals reach education and career goals while improving their quality of life. As OECD’s Andreas Schleicher notes, “skills are becoming more like currency.” The ETS Human Progress Survey supports this sentiment, finding that 78% of respondents believe “proof of specific skills will be more important than a university degree,” and 81% foresee micro-credentials as valuable tools for showcasing skills. Assessments can recognize skills, appraise performance, and lend credibility to decisions. They open doors for job opportunities, career advancement, and gap bridging in emerging fields and roles. To achieve this, tests must provide actionable feedback and useful information. Industry-relevant certifications, scores, badges, and stackable micro-credentials will empower test-takers to navigate career pathways. Innovative assessment systems will harness emerging technologies and AI to power skills-based and technology-enhanced measures. Future assessments will focus on essential skills that enable individuals to be productive, informed citizens, maintain health and well-being, and contribute positively to society. The XQ Institute's "Learners for Life" learner objective emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, including in achieving financial stability. Skill-based assessments and innovative measurement are crucial to providing young people with insights and feedback to navigate career paths confidently and achieve learning goals, aligning education with emerging industry needs. The report is here: https://lnkd.in/gT7EchDG Please join us in recognizing the good work our colleagues in this domain, including: Kadriye Ercikan, Ida M. Lawrence, Michelle Froah, Sarah López Rhame, Christine Flecha Betaneli, Komarova Kateryna, Matthew Johnson, Stephen Plank, Teresa Ober, Ph.D., Ikkyu Choi, Jesse R. Sparks, Daniel Fishtein, Dan McCaffrey, Richard Tannenbaum, Katherine Castellano, Sandip Sinharay, Randy Bennett, Michael Feuer, James Pellegrino, Karen Barton, Ido Roll, Pamela Cantor MD, Laura Slover, Carri Schneider, Byron Auguste, Getting Smart, Project Lead The Way, Shawn Dove, Maria Flynn, The Burning Glass Institute, Stuart Andreason, Suzanne Towns, Timothy Knowles, Brooke Stafford-Brizard, Lydia Liu

Our latest report on Skills-Based Hiring (https://lnkd.in/gZnWcqmD ) continues to resonate deeply within the business and workforce communities. A significant factor in why skills-based hiring has not yet led to a marked transformation in recruitment practices may be attributed to the increasing educational attainment within the workforce. The proportion of individuals with a bachelor's degree has seen a rapid rise in recent decades. Consequently, many fields are inundated with degree-holding candidates, diminishing the urgency to broaden the talent pool to include those without a bachelor's degree. However, the Skills-Based Hiring movement could achieve greater success by concentrating on sectors where employers face acute hiring challenges and numerous positions, traditionally requiring a bachelor's degree, could feasibly be filled by individuals without one. This strategic focus, could significantly bridge the gap between current labor market demands and the untapped potential of skilled, non-degree holders. By prioritizing practical abilities over formal education credentials, this approach not only promises to enhance inclusivity but also align more closely with the evolving needs of the labor market. #skillsbasedhiring #skills #recruitment #labormarket #futureofwork