PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteSkills-based hiring is becoming more common, but it has not made degrees irrelevant. In 2026, the practical question is whether a particular role requires a degree or license, what job-related abilities an employer evaluates, and whether changing a policy or job posting has led to different hiring outcomes.
What does skills-based hiring mean?
Skills-based hiring evaluates candidates on their ability to do the work—using evidence such as work samples, structured assessments, relevant experience, or examples from coursework—instead of relying specifically on a degree or GPA as a proxy for ability. It does not mean ignoring every credential. A degree, license, or other qualification may still be essential for a role or legally required.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The distinction matters because “we assess skills” and “we hire without degree requirements” are not interchangeable claims. An employer may assess skills while retaining a degree requirement, or remove a degree requirement without changing how candidates are screened or selected.
What the 2026 evidence says—and what it measures
| Evidence | Finding | What it can tell you |
|---|---|---|
| NACE Job Outlook 2026 employer survey | 70% of 183 responding employers said they used skills-based hiring for entry-level hires, up from 65% in the prior survey. Data were collected August 7–September 22, 2025. | Self-reported adoption among survey respondents, most often in screening and interviewing—not the percentage of all hires made without degrees. |
| NACE spring 2025 student survey | Fewer than 40% of graduating seniors said they were familiar with the term “skills-based hiring.” The survey included 13,684 college students, including 1,479 bachelor’s-level Class of 2025 seniors. | Awareness of the label among surveyed students, not whether they could demonstrate relevant skills or whether employers hired them. |
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025 Occupational Requirements Survey | 32.5% of workers had no minimum formal education requirement, 39.3% had a high-school diploma requirement, and 17.7% had a bachelor’s degree requirement. | Estimated minimum education requirements across occupations—not preferences among otherwise comparable applicants. The categories shown do not cover every education level. |
| LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute, March 2025 | Its model estimated a global talent-pool increase from skills-based hiring 6% higher for workers without bachelor’s degrees than for degree holders: 6.3x versus 5.9x, as reported in the analysis. | A modeled potential talent pool, not a count of additional hires by any employer. Results vary by industry and geography. |
These measures have different populations and definitions. They should not be combined into a single estimate of how many people were hired without degrees. The BLS says its 2025 Occupational Requirements Survey estimates represent 148,672,800 civilian workers, based on samples collected August 2023–July 2025, and advises against treating earlier ORS publications as a directly comparable time series.
Why a degree can matter for one job and not another
Minimum education requirements vary substantially by occupation. In the BLS 2025 Occupational Requirements Survey, 83.9% of fundraisers and 82.9% of marketing managers had a bachelor’s degree requirement. Those figures describe estimated job requirements; they do not show whether employers would prefer a degree when comparing candidates with different backgrounds.
For regulated work, a required license or credential can be a hard boundary, not a screening preference an employer can simply waive. For other jobs, employers may be able to accept equivalent evidence of competence, such as relevant work, a portfolio, or an assessment. The applicable requirement depends on the role and, where relevant, its legal or licensing rules.
How the hiring pathways differ
| Approach | What is treated as a key signal | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Degree-led | A specified degree or education level is required or given strong weight, sometimes alongside experience and skills assessment. | Is the degree genuinely necessary for the work, or is it being used as a proxy? Does a license or regulation require it? |
| Skills-led | Evidence of job-relevant ability—such as a work sample, assessment, or relevant experience—is central to evaluation. | Which skills are assessed, at what stage, and against what standard? Can candidates demonstrate them through more than one route? |
| Combined | Degrees, credentials, skills, and experience are considered together, with their importance depending on the role. | Which qualifications are mandatory, which are preferences, and what evidence can substitute for a preference? |
The available employer surveys support this combined, role-specific picture rather than a universal replacement of degrees by skills. WGU’s Workforce Decoded report, based on 3,147 U.S.-based respondents surveyed September 30–October 15, 2025, reports continued employer value for degrees alongside greater value placed on applied skills and familiarity with emerging technologies. The NC Employer Needs Survey likewise reports that demonstrated skills and work experience were valued more than degrees and certifications in its employer sample. These are distinct surveys with different scopes.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Why policy and job-posting changes do not prove hiring changed
The National Governors Association reported in February 2025 that more than half of state governments had policies encouraging skills-based hiring and that states with such policies saw faster growth in postings without degree requirements. That is evidence of policy and posting change, not by itself proof that more candidates without degrees were hired.
A 2024 report from Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School found that many companies had announced changes to degree requirements, while sustained hiring changes remained elusive for most. A posting that drops a degree requirement can broaden the stated eligibility pool; it does not establish who applied, who received an offer, or whether hiring decisions changed.
LinkedIn’s modeled talent-pool result is another distinct kind of evidence. It estimates potential reach rather than completed hires, and the institute cautions against direct comparison with its 2023 report. None of these findings establishes that removing a degree requirement automatically increases non-degree hiring, guarantees more diverse hiring, or improves performance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How candidates can evaluate a “skills-based” opportunity
- Read the requirement literally. Separate “required” degrees or licenses from “preferred” qualifications. For regulated roles, confirm which credentials are legally or professionally necessary.
- Identify the skills the work actually uses. Look for responsibilities and specific competencies in the posting, rather than relying on the hiring label alone.
- Prepare evidence tied to those skills. Use relevant work examples, projects, assessments, or coursework to explain what you did and how it relates to the role. NACE president and CEO Shawn VanDerziel said in January 2026 that graduates accumulate skills through coursework and co-curricular activities and need to articulate how those experiences relate to work.
- Ask how skills are evaluated. If the process is unclear, ask whether the employer uses a work sample, structured interview, or another assessment, and what the evaluation is intended to measure.
- Do not assume “skills-based” means degree-free. Check the eligibility criteria and the actual selection process; the term alone does not tell you whether a degree remains a requirement or a strong preference.
How employers can tell whether the change is real
Changing a posting is an input, not an outcome. The National Governors Association’s September 2026 toolkit recommends starting with a focused pilot, establishing a baseline, and comparing results before expanding the approach. Useful measures include:
- Applicant volume and applicant mix, including candidates without degrees.
- Offers and hires made to candidates without degrees, considered against the number of applicants and the role’s actual requirements.
- Retention and turnover after hiring.
- Whether job postings specify competencies and whether skills are visible in screening and interviews.
- Whether degree requirements changed and whether hiring outcomes changed alongside them.
These measures help distinguish a public commitment or revised job description from a change in who is considered and hired. Retention and applicant counts are useful implementation signals, but they do not alone prove that a hiring method caused better job performance.
What the evidence cannot settle
The reviewed evidence does not establish a universal causal effect of skills-based hiring on an individual candidate’s chance of being hired, pay, or long-term career outcomes. Surveys capture reported practice or employer views; occupational data describe minimum requirements; policy reports track government action; and talent-pool models estimate potential reach. The most dependable conclusion is narrower: skills-based evaluation is increasingly reported, but degrees remain material in some roles, and actual results have to be measured role by role.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
