Revolutionizing Hiring: Big Companies Shift Focus to Skills Over Degrees

Big companies like Blackstone, Walmart, and Microsoft are now paying more attention to the specific skills a person has, rather than just whether they have a college degree. A group called the Burning Glass Institute is behind this change.

They're supported by Walmart with $500,000 and have set up a new website that lists the key skills needed for popular jobs like salespeople, customer service managers, and software developers. This information covers over 11 million workers.

Ten of America's biggest employers are together working on this project. They are helping to make a common way to talk about job skills. This helps everyone understand what's important for different jobs. The website they launched shows what you need to know for certain roles and how important each skill is.

For example, a product manager should understand marketing basics and be good at sales negotiations. But the most in-demand skills are very job-specific, like knowing how to predict a product's life cycle based on market research.

The website also tells you if a certain skill might get you a higher salary. For example, knowing about user experience (UX) might earn a product manager a 5% higher salary, and software engineers who know Python could see a 3.9% pay increase.

This approach is also super helpful for people like military veterans, who might find it tough to show how their skills from the service apply in the business world. Plus, this method gives everyone a fairer chance, as it's based on what you can do, not where you studied.

Things are tricky in the job market right now, but employers hope this new focus on skills can provide some hope. It's meant to help employees grow in their careers and understand how they can get promoted.

For instance, if you work in customer service and want to become a manager, the website shows that you should gain leadership experience and get good at managing accounts.

Some companies are already seeing good results from focusing on skills. Verizon has dropped the need for degrees in 99% of its jobs and says it's helped their workers stay longer with the company. Walmart has found that training its employees in specific skills has led to happier customers and quicker promotions for staff.

The website also helps new job seekers figure out which skills are in demand and which might not be needed as much in the future. 

Blackstone plans to use this skills-first approach in its hundreds of companies to help keep and attract talented employees by knowing what skills will be important moving forward.

The concept of "AI prompt engineering" shows how job skills can change quickly. It was a key skill for software engineers until changes in technology made it less necessary.

The Burning Glass Institute promises to keep updating the website with the latest skills and job demands, and they plan to introduce pathways for 30 more jobs soon.

The goal is to make it easier for employers and employees to speak the same language when it comes to skills and to help everyone know what they need to succeed in their careers.

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