From Degrees to Skills: How Companies Can Start Hiring for Capability

by: Kevin Armstrong, Program Director |
November 7, 2025
Two coworkers reviewing documents together at a desk.

A framework for redefining hiring around skills, not résumés — and unlocking hidden talent in the process

For decades, employers have relied on degrees and job titles as shorthand for capability. But the world of work is changing — fast. Automation, hybrid roles, and evolving technologies are transforming what companies need from their people. The problem? Traditional hiring models haven’t kept up. 

That’s where skills-based hiring comes in. It’s not a buzzword or a passing HR trend — it’s a practical, data-driven shift toward evaluating candidates on what they can do, not simply what’s on their résumé.

The problem with credential-based hiring

When degree requirements became standard, they served as a proxy for skill. But research now shows that relying too heavily on degrees can unnecessarily narrow your talent pool. According to LinkedIn, nearly 20 million U.S. workers have the skills for higher-wage jobs but lack the formal credentials to get in the door. 

By filtering candidates based on education or previous job titles, organizations may be unintentionally excluding capable, diverse talent — and limiting their own agility in the process. 

Why skills-based hiring matters now

  • Access to hidden talent. Skills-based hiring helps uncover qualified candidates who might otherwise be overlooked — including career changers, veterans, and workers with alternative education paths. 
  • Greater agility and internal mobility. A skills-first lens allows employers to redeploy existing employees to new roles faster, reducing dependency on external hires and improving retention. 
  • Improved equity and inclusion. By focusing on measurable competencies, not credentials, skills-based practices reduce bias and open doors for underrepresented talent. 

What skills-based hiring looks like in practice

Implementing skills-based hiring doesn’t mean throwing out your current recruiting process. It means re-engineering it to focus on evidence of ability. Here’s what that might look like in real-world recruiting workflows: 

  • Rewriting job descriptions to focus on outcomes (“what success looks like”) instead of checklists of degrees or years of experience.
  • Using structured assessments — like work samples, simulations, or scenario-based interviews — to measure capability.
  • Building clear skills taxonomies that define the technical and soft skills required for success across roles and levels.
  • Training hiring managers to evaluate candidates using consistent, skill-based rubrics rather than “gut feel.”

Starting small: How to pilot a skills-based approach

The most successful transitions start with a pilot. Identify a high-volume or high-impact role that’s difficult to fill or where degree requirements may not be essential. Then, work cross-functionally to: 

  • Map out core skills driving success in that role.
  • Align your hiring team on how those skills will be assessed.
  • Track post-hire outcomes like retention, time to productivity, and quality of hire.
  • Once validated, scale the approach across other roles and departments.

The data advantage

Skills-based hiring isn’t just about fairness — it’s about performance. Organizations that hire for skills report higher productivity and retention rates because they’re matching people to roles based on actual capability and potential. Over time, the data you collect from assessments and performance outcomes can inform smarter workforce planning, learning investments, and internal mobility strategies.They don’t replace your internal team or tools—but they can give you an edge when timing, quality, and visibility matter most. 

The bottom line

Every organization says people are their greatest asset. Skills-based hiring is how you prove it — by giving every capable person a fair shot and giving your company a competitive edge in the process. It’s not just a better way to hire. It’s a better way to build the future workforce.

Moving toward a skills-based hiring strategy doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Reach out to me if you’d like to discuss how to pilot this approach or get buy-in across your organization.