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To switch to skills-based hiring, start with a small pilot, define the skills each role actually requires, update job postings, assess candidates consistently, and review results before expanding. Removing a degree requirement is only one change: the goal is to make demonstrated, job-relevant skills a primary basis for decisions while keeping qualifications that are legally required or genuinely necessary.
1. Start with a focused pilot
Choose a manageable set of roles rather than changing every hiring process at once. A pilot might focus on entry-level positions, roles that are difficult to fill, or jobs whose requirements are due for review. Include hiring managers, recruiters, and other relevant stakeholders in the design so they agree on what the pilot is meant to learn.
The OECD recommends targeted pilots and early stakeholder involvement as a way to build shared learning and commitment. Keep the pilot scope clear: identify the roles, who owns each step, and what evidence you will review before deciding whether to expand.
2. Define the skills the work actually needs
Begin with the work, not the existing job description. Ask people familiar with the role to identify its main tasks, then translate those tasks into specific capabilities a candidate must demonstrate. Separate technical or functional skills from broader capabilities such as communication or problem-solving, and include the latter only when they matter to the work.
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Review each degree, credential, and experience requirement. Keep requirements that are legally mandated or demonstrably necessary for safe, competent performance. Treat other qualifications and years of experience as possible evidence of ability, not automatic substitutes for assessing it.
3. Rewrite job postings and widen entry routes
State required skills in plain language and explain how applicants can show them. Where appropriate, accept evidence gained through different routes, such as apprenticeships, short training programs, work experience, or other relevant projects. This makes the posting more informative to candidates who can do the work but may not have followed a traditional education or career path.
Skills-first hiring does not mean ignoring qualifications or experience. It means considering them alongside demonstrated ability rather than using them as proxies by default. Nor does removing a degree requirement by itself guarantee fairer access or greater representation; employers need to examine how their criteria and process affect candidates.
4. Assess candidates with consistent, job-related methods
Choose assessment methods that reflect the role and apply them consistently. Depending on the work, a process might include a skills questionnaire, recruiter and manager screens, structured behavioral interviews, a technical task, or a practical task using relevant equipment. Use the same instructions, sequence, and scoring criteria for candidates being considered for the same role.
Before adopting a method, consider how well it represents actual job duties, the time and effort it imposes on candidates, accessibility, potential sources of bias, and the cost and capacity needed to administer it. A test score should not become a new proxy filter unless it meaningfully measures the skill the role requires.
OECD practical examples caution against relying on a single online assessment score. One employer described in that material weighed the score alongside the rest of the application and found no strong correlation between the score and candidates’ performance in other selection stages. That example is a reason to use evidence in context, not a universal finding about every assessment.
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5. Review the pilot, then build beyond hiring
After the pilot, gather feedback from candidates and hiring managers. Check whether the criteria and steps were applied as intended, examine hiring outcomes, and identify where candidates encountered unnecessary barriers. Use what you learn to adjust the process before deciding whether to extend it to more roles.
Survey findings can help frame questions, but they do not establish that skills-first hiring caused a business result. SHRM’s 2025 report said 34% of organizations often or almost always used skills-first strategies in hiring; among organizations that never or rarely used them, 55% expressed interest in adopting them. It also reported that organizations frequently using skills-first approaches were more likely to exceed financial objectives (35% versus 27%) and report positive company culture (86% versus 78%). These are reported associations, not proof of causal impact. Read SHRM’s 2025 report.
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Skills language is most useful when it continues after someone is hired. Connect it to onboarding, employee development, performance conversations, and internal career pathways so that the capabilities valued during selection remain visible in how people learn and progress.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What employer surveys say about assessment
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report records employer expectations for 2025–2030, not universal observed practice: 81% of surveyed businesses expected to use work experience as an assessment mechanism, 48% expected to use skills assessments, and 43% expected to continue requiring a university degree by 2030. The figures suggest that employers may combine skills evidence with experience and formal education rather than choosing only one. See the World Economic Forum’s 2025 report.
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