Skills Training Surges As Hiring Priorities Change

Skills-first hiring is an approach to recruitment that is picking up steam on LinkedIn, and it’s a trend that could entirely reshape the labor market. 

A recent report published by LinkedIn reveals that over half, or 59%, of professionals in the U.S. are planning to improve skills with online instruction this year. The data comes from LinkedIn’s updated Workforce Confidence Survey which suggests that there is a rising importance of people prioritizing skills over traditional qualifications like degrees or certifications.  

According to LinkedIn’s research, adopting a skills-first strategy allows companies to adapt to the evolving nature of work by targeting candidates based on specific skill requirements. This approach not only expands talent pools by nearly 10 times the size, but it also provides opportunities for historically underrepresented groups. For instance, it’s reported that the skills-first approach increases the candidate pools of workers without bachelor’s degrees by 9% and boosts the proportion of women in candidate pools by 24% for jobs where women are traditionally underrepresented. 

Skills-first hiring is also significantly benefiting younger generations — with Gen Z candidate pools growing over ten times. The survey reveals that Gen X and Millennial representation in talent pools also increased by 8.5 and 9 times, respectively. Gen Z workers are more likely than older generations to go back to the classroom to focus on skills training. This is followed by Millennials, and then Gen X workers. Baby boomers were revealed to be the least likely to focus on upskilling this year.  

LinkedIn’s report encourages business leaders to support skills-first hiring practices to help establish new opportunities for workers, diversify their talent pool, and retain employees. This trend makes it clear global workers should spotlight their skills to stand out in the competitive job market expected this year.