Why has skills-based hiring become so important?

A revolution is taking place within recruitment. Major brands including IBM, Boeing and Walmart are tearing up traditional hiring practices, dropping degrees from job requirements, and adopting a skills-first focus.

This approach sees organisations prioritising the skills required to be successful in roles, rather than focusing on previous job titles, previous employers and academic achievements – and conversations about this approach are taking place at the very highest levels.

In his first State of the Union address, the US President announced that the administration would keep the economy strong and support workers by hiring staff “based on their skills, not degrees”. Elsewhere, it was a topic of discussion for the World Economic Forum at Davos recently, where it was suggested that focusing on skills “could democratise access to economic opportunities and pathways.”

Addressing a skills shortage

While this growing interest may indicate that skills-based hiring is a new approach, it has in fact been around for decades – Josh Bersin points to energy, pharma and telecom companies that have been using it for years. It is gathering particular momentum at present, however, due to one very important development: the skills crisis.

Read the rest of this article at HRZone.