One day soon, phrasings such as “four-year degree required” or “only experienced candidates considered” may be seen as stodgy, antiquated, innovation-stifling relics of the past.

This is because modern organizations and tech leaders are realizing that today’s dynamic, challenging environment requires a middle ground between so-blue collar and white collar — that is, “new collar” workers, or those without diplomas, but possessing necessary skills and aptitude for a variety of jobs.

By arbitrarily demanding college diplomas or a certain number of years of experience, organizations are “automatically shutting out a gigantic swath of the population,” said Don Gannon-Jones, VP of content at professional services company Karat. “Any effort to create a workforce that offers truly diverse perspectives and backgrounds is essentially stillborn.”

More than just a line on a resume

Former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty coined the term ‘new collar workers’ in 2016, citing “important new dynamics in the global labor market.”

The concept is gaining traction in the enterprise, with companies such as Deloitte, Google, Apple, IBM, Accenture, Bank of America and others eschewing four-year degree requirements for some positions.

As evidence of this, ZipRecruiter reported that job postings with bachelor’s degree stipulations fell 10% between 2022 and 2023. Further, 72% of respondents said their companies practice skills-based hiring.

The practice is gaining ground on the governmental level, too: Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey recently instituted skills-based hiring practices for state jobs, noting that “too many job applicants are being held back by unnecessary degree requirements.”

As part of a state executive order, state job postings will only be allowed to include degree conditions “when absolutely necessary” for the performance of the job.

Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll noted that “nobody can be reduced to a line on a resume.”

Degree requirements driven by laziness

According to the latest U.S. Census data, roughly 38% of adults age 25 or older have a bachelor’s degree, and just 10% have an associate degree. However, even those with degrees have faced issues around “pedigree bias,” in which hiring managers consider their alma maters “not good enough.”

If more companies loosened their requirements around traditional education, it could open up at least 1.4 million jobs for American workers, according to one estimate.

By focusing largely on degrees, “you’re cutting out 60% of the population — and that’s just in the U.S.,” said Gannon-Jones, who himself doesn’t have a degree and, in fact, started out as an aircraft mechanic apprentice.

He also pointed out that there’s no actual data proving that those with four-year degrees “pick up on things” when they get a job (as is the conventional wisdom).

So why such an emphasis on diplomas?

“It’s a little bit of laziness on the part of employers and a little bit of not knowing what to do,” said Gannon-Jones. “It makes the hiring process easier, helps weed out a lot of the population.”

The ‘post-degree era’

Many of today’s workers don’t have college degrees not because they aren’t so-called “intelligent enough” — they simply can’t afford it.

The average cost of college in the U.S. has more than doubled in the 21st century, with the average cost now $36,436 per student per year (private nonprofit universities climb far higher, with students paying $223,360 over four years).

“Degrees are bonkers expensive,” said Gannon-Jones. “Without a doubt, students are more reluctant to go tens of thousands of dollars into debt for a degree that doesn't necessarily create a straightforward path to financial security.”

He pointed to the overall economic landscape of higher education: Professors often want to focus on research and writing papers, so they rely on teaching assistants, who, in turn, are measured on largely grade-based student satisfaction.

“‘A’ is the most common grade in college now,” Gannon-Jones asserted. On top of that, many students are just there to check off a box, “Here's my money, give me my degree.”

“It’s this whole cyclone over the past 20 years or so that’s brought us to this point,” he said. “We're slowly creeping up on a post-degree era. Industries everywhere are realizing that for a lot of fields, colleges and universities aren't teaching what businesses actually need.”

How organizations can adapt to skills-based hiring

CEOs, CIO and other executives must accept this new reality by first removing college degree demands (except for the positions that truly require them, such as lawyers, doctors or certain types of scientists), Gannon-Jones emphasized.

“Take that off of your job description,” he said. “It doesn’t tell you anything new about the candidate.”

Instead, he and other experts advise, focus on skills and skills-based interviews. This means talking to people already doing the job who can pinpoint necessary abilities, then creating interviews and assessments that reflect those.

“Get everybody aligned to focus on what the job actually requires,” said Gannon-Jones. “Be clear in your job descriptions about what that is. It’s that simple.”

This can help enterprises create “structured, scorecard-based interviews” that are repeatable and consistent methods to assess required skills, he said.

“A skills-based hiring approach ensures that organizations can quickly adapt to emerging trends,” said Sara Gutierrez, chief science officer at management consulting services company SHL. By focusing on skills, employers are better equipped to identify candidates with the specific competencies required for the job.

This allows for a more “agile and responsive workforce,” she said, which is “extremely important in the face of expanding labor shortages and skill gaps within the global workforce.”

Gannon-Jones pointed out that roles in business analysis, data, IT, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI) and other areas require capabilities in research, discovery, troubleshooting and configurations management (to name a few), none of which are solely the domain of traditional degrees.

Particularly in areas such as cybersecurity, “you have to be up to date on an hour-to-hour basis,” he said.

This requires “self-learned people” who can think and learn quickly. “College is a slow way to learn,” Gannon-Jones said. “Slow learners aren’t what you need in a security operation.”

A human investment in diverse candidates

By loosening their job requirements, organizations can not only access more candidates — and maintain a strong job pipeline — but more diverse candidates who know how to reach their contemporaries in a businesses’ customer base.

“You need diversity so you have different perspectives,” said Gannon-Jones. With that, “you’re unlocking a ton.” Furthermore, “it unlocks not only external candidates, but internal candidates.”

Existing employees with proven aptitude can have more mobility across a business, which can further invest in them via apprenticeships, internships and professional development. This will make them feel more invested (and invested in), said Gannon-Jones.

“It’s not human resources, it’s human investment,” he said.

Ultimately, skills-based hiring isn’t just a game-changer, but “organizations that lag on this are going to find themselves suffering.”

How to stand out as a candidate

Candidates need to do their share, too, of course.

Look into industry certifications and frame up what you need to learn, Gannon-Jones said. If you’re interested in a certain area such AI or cybersecurity, write about relevant topics, share thoughts and insights on blogs and social media and build out a portfolio.

“Do the job on your own,” said Gannon-Jones. “Learn to learn.”

Professional presentation is important as well, he emphasized. Learn how to interview, “show up well” and network via professional mixers, online user groups or industry events.

Also, people who are successful don’t just ask questions — they answer them, too, and are participants and thought leaders themselves. Simply put, “those people get seen.”