Will skills-based hiring solve today's talent issues?

Skills-Based Hiring Is Growing, But Is It Working?
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If employers are struggling to find the right talent in 2026, degree requirements may no longer be the main reason.
More organisations are moving away from using university qualifications as a default filter. Recent LinkedIn data referenced by Korn Ferry shows that 30% of paid job advertisements now leave out professional degree requirements, compared with 19% in 2019. It signals a broader shift toward assessing people by their skills, not only their education.
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The appeal is clear. Many employers still report difficulty finding the capabilities they need. Korn Ferry notes that 72% of employers globally say they are struggling to find skilled talent, up from 40% a decade ago. At the same time, recruitment technology can process large volumes of applications quickly, creating more opportunity to look beyond traditional credentials.
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For candidates, especially recent graduates, this shift is both encouraging and challenging.
A degree can still hold value, particularly in specialist or regulated fields. But it may no longer be enough on its own. Employers are increasingly asking: what can this person actually do, and how quickly can they apply those skills in our environment?
That is where skills-based hiring matters.
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Rather than relying heavily on qualifications, job titles or years of experience, a skills-based approach focuses on the practical capabilities needed for success. These may include technical expertise, problem-solving, communication, stakeholder management, adaptability and judgement.
 
It can also create broader workforce benefits. Korn Ferry’s research found that 67% of organisations surveyed planned to adopt skills-based rewards by 2028. Recognising people for the skills they bring and continue to build can support retention, internal mobility and agility. It may also open doors for capable people who do not hold formal degrees.
 
But the shift is not simple.
 
Many organisations support the idea of skills-based hiring, yet are not fully ready to implement it. Korn Ferry reported that only 17% of firms felt prepared to become skills-based organisations. One major challenge is clarity: employers may know they need stronger skills, but not always know which skills are essential, which are useful, and which can be accessed externally.
 
Without that clarity, skills-based hiring can become another recruitment phrase. Employers may remove degree requirements from job advertisements, but still rely on familiar shortcuts during assessment, such as previous employers, industry background or career path.
To work well, skills-based hiring requires more than changing a job ad. It needs better role design, clear skills frameworks, structured interviews, stronger assessment methods and a shift in hiring mindset.
 
There is also the pace of change to consider.
 
AI and automation are reshaping work quickly. The World Economic Forum has estimated that by 2030, close to 40% of workers’ core job skills will need to be updated or may become outdated. Employers are not only hiring for today’s needs; they are trying to anticipate what capability will matter next.
 
That means hiring decisions need to balance current skill with learning agility. A candidate may not have every technical skill on day one, but they may have the adaptability, curiosity and judgement to keep developing. In a fast-changing environment, those qualities matter.
 
The move away from degree-first hiring is not about dismissing education. It is about recognising that capability can be built in different ways.
Degrees, experience and career history all have value. But they should not automatically outweigh evidence of skill, performance, potential and adaptability.
 
The future of hiring will belong to organisations that can answer three questions clearly:

• What skills do we need?

• How will we identify them fairly?And how will we keep building them as work continues to change?

• And how will we keep building them as work continues to change?