Episode: 256

Episode Title: Recruit for Skills, Not Degrees

For far too long, the college degree has been the gatekeeper of desirable jobs. Here’s why and how that’s changing, coming up next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 256 show:

Hello and welcome—you are now in The Perna Syndicate! As we look out at the hiring landscape in America today, it’s never looked so bright—or so grim. As of April, there were 9 million open jobs in the U.S., which is an all-time record. So it should be easy for jobseekers to find a new position, right?

Wrong. Just because there are open jobs doesn’t mean that there are enough qualified workers who are willing or able to fill them. Some experts are predicting that this labor shortage could expand over the next decade, totaling some 85 million people by 2030. 

With businesses clamoring for workers in our post-pandemic economy, there are plenty of people applying—yet all too often, they don’t meet the requirements on the job description. The common perception is that we’re facing an insurmountable skills gap where there simply aren’t enough qualified workers out there. And while that’s true, there might be more to it. 

What if employers are screening for the wrong qualifications? Job postings that demand degrees are missing the mark. The ability to perform a job is not necessarily based on having a degree, but rather, possessing the skills and personal grit to thrive in that role.

LinkedIn executive Jennifer Shappley says that for far too long, hiring has been based on your last job, your degree, or who you know. Now, it’s finally starting to shift to a skills-based hiring approach, where more and more companies are recruiting based on the candidate’s proven ability. Looking beyond the degree is quickly expanding the pool of available talent—and it can’t happen fast enough. 

Does this mean the college degree is going away? Let’s tackle that question on tomorrow’s show. We’ll see you back here tomorrow on The Perna Syndicate.