One Ten Highlights the Importance of Skills over Degrees

​Washington, DC-based OneTen is an organization revolutionizing hiring practices in the US to provide access to career opportunities for talent from diverse backgrounds. OneTen’s skills-hiring movement aims to promote hiring practices that prioritize skills over academic credentials. In a June 2024 CNN broadcast on The Lead with Jack Tapper, he discussed this movement and how companies have prioritized skills over degrees.

CNN focused on Amari Morgan, an Associates Controls Technologist at General Motors and a OneTen Coalition member. Morgan has succeeded in technology since finishing a technology program with OneTen partner Per Scholas. The segment focused on Morgan’s experience and how it illustrates the importance of businesses focusing more on a prospective hire’s skills instead of academic credentials.

Degrees have been the traditional means by which professionals train and ascend into their careers. In the past, degree programs provided students with the training and foundational knowledge to function in a particular field. Moreover, prospective professionals also benefited from learning broad theoretical concepts, developing critical thinking skills, and being exposed to various topics. However, as the cost of many degree programs and how people work changes, many young people have reconsidered the value of a degree, especially when the market in many fields is continually evolving. Some think the expensive financial investment and time spent are not worth pursuing a degree that might not pan out.

On the other hand, skills are the abilities professionals acquire through work experience and training, offering employers something degrees might not-adaptability. Industry-specific and technical skills can transfer across sectors, and these skills can be continuously enhanced.  
 
In addition to companies recognizing that skills are transferrable, work structure has also evolved, with people working across teams in a network. Traditionally, professionals earned their degrees and then spent the next 30 to 40 years in an occupation, possibly working for the same company. These networked, team-based businesses work more efficiently in a world where the market rapidly evolves or companies deal with competitive threats. Furthermore, companies must adjust new formats, such as hybrid and remote work, to adapt to world events like the pandemic. Ultimately, companies need employees with the skills to adapt to these changing, sometimes challenging, shifts in work structure.

With that in mind, companies must also consider the life of a skill that might not be relevant beyond a certain time. In the past, skills had a life span of between 10 and 15 years. Today, a skill life span might be five years, and it is shorter for technical skills. The skill will only hold its relevance for a few seasons, as with digital marketing, which is constantly changing. Digital marketers must remain abreast of new trends and the skills that go with them. Ultimately, companies hire talent with the skills they need now. When choosing between a candidate with the required skills and one with a degree but no practical experience, the company will likely hire the person with the skill, even if the person does not have the degree to meet their present need.

Finally, as business advances, niche markets arise, ones that require professionals to have skills not necessarily found in a degree program. Businesses are catering to specific interests, social groups, and language groups, which will require harnessing the skills to sell products and services to them.

In the end, skills-based hiring automatically does something that many businesses have focused on in the last few years-equitable hiring. As many opt out of four-year degree programs in exchange for real-world experiences that culminate in skills, a skills-based hiring movement facilitates diverse talent working across all industries and tiers.

The CNN interview is on the OneTen website. For more general information on it or OneTen, please visit oneten.org/about-us/.

Michael Patrick Small

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