SVP at CompTIA.
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When you hire someone, you should care about what they can do, not what degree they hold or what school they went to. It’s about considering the candidate's skills and competencies over credentials.
My organization, the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), reviewed thousands of job postings from late 2021 and found a large percentage of employers continue to require a four-year degree and sometimes advanced technical certifications for entry-level or early-career positions. But data from National Student Clearinghouse shows fewer high school graduates are pursuing higher education in the past two years. The same data showed a more significant drop in college enrollments by students of color from low-income communities.
According to BBC Worklife, a new phenomenon is also occurring called degree inflation, where many experienced non-degreed workers are retiring and their replacement, for some reason, is expected to have a degree. This could simply be a quick proof point for the hiring manager that the candidate should have some foundational knowledge, but it certainly isn’t a proxy for skill.
These changes in the job market are resulting in companies finding their job postings staying open much longer than ever before and seeing fewer qualified applicants. This trend has forced many successful companies to re-think their hiring practices, look beyond the more traditional pipelines and find alternate candidate pathways. Employers increasingly are looking for talent by rewriting those job postings and directing recruiters to expand the candidate pool by including skills and experience.
An interesting and valuable by-product of the focus on skills and experience versus the four-year degree is the diversity and inclusion benefit to the organizations that result from the opening of these positions to many that couldn’t afford college and don’t hold four-year degrees.
A recent LinkedIn study shows new hires without a four-year degree tend to stay 34% longer than similar employees with a degree. This could have a significant impact on business performance if the employee stays on the job longer, becomes more competent and delivers a better customer experience and performance. Not to mention the recruiting and onboarding costs to start the process over.
According to my organization's research, 57% of HR professionals surveyed expected the de-prioritization of the four-year degree to continue. But, challenges persist. HR professionals acknowledged general organizational resistance to change, coupled with some level of cognitive bias whereby hiring managers automatically embrace the four-year degree-holding candidate as the “safe choice.”
Of course, savvy organizations recognize the evidence that confirms candidates of all types, from all backgrounds, can be successful when given the chance. These actions could help your organization fill those positions faster and improve retention at far less cost:
• Train your managers, recruiters and HR team. Make your postings more inclusive, focus on job responsibilities versus requirements and highlight desired skills.
• Post, recruit and interview for job-specific skills. Review your job postings. Rewrite your early career and entry-level job postings to ensure they have appropriate skills and experience cited and are not blocking applicants due to an unneeded degree requirement.
• Leverage certifications. Certifications and even micro-certifications are good ways to ensure the validation of a skill.
• Watch out for AI screening your candidates. Ensure your tools are doing what you want them to do.
In conclusion, many organizations still focus on the four-year degree, impacting their abilities to fill the roles that they so desperately need to fill and excluding many skilled workers. Encouraging your managers to focus on skills, competencies and consideration of the non-traditional pathways may be the answer to filling those positions with a diverse group of individuals.
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