New Trend: 1 in 5 Job Posts on LinkedIn Doesn’t Require a College Degree

Amid hiring freezes and layoffs, falling markets and soaring inflation, the noise over quiet quitting and the strife over return to office, wouldn’t it be nice for some good news on the talent front? 

Well consider this: Companies are measurably moving toward skills-first hiring and away from college education as a prerequisite for well-paying jobs. 

A recent analysis of LinkedIn data shows that year over year the number of job postings on our platform that didn’t require a four-year degree rose from 15% to 20%, a 33% percent increase.

And that finding is buttressed by other research that points to businesses shifting their focus from schools to skills. The Burning Glass Institute analyzed data from millions of online job listings and found that in 2017 51% required a four-year degree but by 2021 that number had dropped to 44%.

And why is this worth celebrating rather than merely noting?

First, because breaking the so-called “paper ceiling,” gives recruiters and hiring managers access to so much more talent. In the U.S., for example, nearly two-thirds of adults do not have a four-year degree.

Second, reducing degree requirements will greatly improve diversity hiring. “For diversity goals,” says Elyse Rosenblum, managing director of Grads of Life, a nonprofit that consults on inclusive hiring practices, “the biggest lever you can pull is eliminating the four-year degree filter.” In the U.S., only 24% of Black adults and 17% of Latino adults have a four-year degree.

Third, college graduates tend to be both more expensive and less loyal and engaged.

Fourth, opening middle-skilled jobs — ones that require some education or training beyond high school but not a four-year degree — to more people can expand a country’s middle class.

Kudos to the companies that have already reduced or, in some cases, eliminated their degree requirements. This isn’t easy. The skills required for a job, The New York Times says, need to be explained more clearly, and reliable assessments of many skills still need to be developed. The Times adds: “Dropping the college degree qualification for jobs requires work.” 

Fortunately, that work may no longer require a college degree.

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