It nurtures a culture of meritocracy in your organization.

Candidates are more likely to excel in independent problem-solving.

By removing barriers that exclude non-traditional candidates, skills-based hiring opens doors for individuals from varied backgrounds, including self-taught developers, career switchers and underrepresented groups in tech.

Standardized assessments, such as coding challenges, project-based tasks or skills tests, are invaluable in evaluating candidates’ capabilities.

Real-world simulations, where candidates solve problems they’re likely to encounter on the job, can also provide deeper insights into their practical abilities.

tructured interviews, where interviewers ask all candidates the same set of questions, help eliminate bias for fair evaluations.

Resistance to change is another hurdle.

A full 55% of companies are investing more toward automated recruiting measures that use AI, according to data from smart candidate interview provider Predictive Hire. This investment is viewed as a way of being able to “do more with less.”

Predictive Hire reports that 56% of people agree that automated tools relieve some administrative burden. Additionally, AI tools can help find higher quality candidates and reduce the overall time it takes to hire, according to Forbes.

A Decrease in the Value of Resumes

Once a capsule of information, a resume now is merely the transportation device to reach the AI-oriented scanner. The rest is up to machine learning at its finest.

This idea does now acknowledge the importance of other emerging technologies such as blockchain, LERs, CLRs, etc.

Such nuggets of information can help an employer rule out an unrealistic candidate fairly quickly

This fails to acknowledge the context in which each statement in a resume has been written.

Focusing on factors such as transparency, fairness and accountability are key considerations to keep in mind when beginning to use AI for hiring practices.

Work to Eliminate Human Biases from AI Systems

Some people — even machine learning programmers — may harbor deep biases, whether they are fully aware of them or not. Providers must take extra precautions against biases when possible, such as insisting on using psychological profiling and predictive analytics. A few common biases that could negatively affect the hiring process involve gender, race, age and socio-economic status, so diligence is invaluable on everyone’s part.

AI and the data it provides can help hiring managers find issues at various points in the recruiting process. For example, if there are strange fluctuations in the number of completed applications in one hiring round versus a previous one, communication leaders and hiring managers can determine whether there is a problem with the application itself or an issue with the entire hiring process.

It’s easier than ever to find job openings and apply to them within minutes.

And also more difficult to cut through the noise of thousands of applicants.

automation of repetitive, high-volume tasks like resume screening and candidate sourcing.

The data gathered through AI recruitment tools allows for improved analytics and reporting. Predictive analytics can identify qualities of top performers at a company and find similar candidates.

Predictive analytics in the hiring process poses a risk to equitable hiring, and if the model is not tuned/trained effectively, will eliminate candidates based on implicit bias. This also may eliminate STARs from hiring due to a model where a specific credential is preferred over another.

data-driven approach powered by AI leads to major gains in recruiting productivity and candidate quality.

Good in concept...

By automating initial resume screening based on job qualifications, AI systems can focus on relevant skills rather than demographic factors like name, age, or gender. This creates a more equitable hiring process.

Hard disagree, verified and validated skills are superior to an AI resume screen. Bias may be compounded due to a preference in a certain degree as opposed to mastery of skill.

AI recruitment marketing platforms like Phenom or Beamery use data analytics to determine where and how to post jobs for maximum visibility among qualified candidates.

AI chatbots can automate administrative paperwork, freeing up HR staff.

Intelligent training platforms leverage machine learning to deliver personalized, interactive training content.

AI algorithms also predict skills gaps, recommending relevant learning materials for each worker.

AI chatbots also allow employees to ask questions and voice concerns securely.

Intelligent dashboards track employee productivity based on key metrics and targets. This provides continuous, unbiased feedback.

AI should not fully replace but rather augment the skills and emotional intelligence of human recruiters.

AI lacks human abilities like empathy, creativity, and intuition that are crucial for evaluating candidates.

Companies should audit AI systems for bias and explain the role of AI to candidates.

Very important.

AI-powered solutions can quickly scan thousands of resumes and shortlist the most qualified applicants that match the job criteria.

Again, this also eliminates many qualified candidates who don't used shared language, or are skilled through alternative routes. Big thumbs down.

Potential biases in AI algorithms and data sets

THIS

Like any technology, AI recruitment tools are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on.

Legacy issues in hiring data, such as lack of diversity, can be perpetuated through AI models. Algorithms can also pick up on and amplify unconscious human biases. Companies need to carefully audit AI systems for fairness and take steps to address algorithmic bias.

AI will also increasingly integrate with other emerging technologies like virtual reality.

Immersive simulated job previews and virtual reality interviews powered by AI could allow candidates to experience day-to-day responsibilities of a role in an engaging, life-like setting. This expands recruiters’ ability to effectively evaluate candidates.

This is dependent on many factors such as widespread adoption of VR/AR/XR... which I believe is contingent upon low friction wearables i.e. prescription sunglasses with AR built in, having a long battery life, and are non-obvious.

fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy, and responsible usageMake highlight private.+.

One major concern is that biases could be unintentionally baked into AI algorithms and training data, leading to discriminatory outcomes. Issues around gender, race, age, and other attributes must be proactively addressed to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion. Companies should audit algorithms and data sets to identify potential bias risks early on. Ongoing testing and tweaking of models is also crucial.

Transparency in how AI systems arrive at results is another key issue.

Quality data is the fuel for AI, so recruiting functions must prioritize data hygiene and governance. With reliable data and an agile mindset, organizations can continuously optimize and improve their AI recruiting systems.

While AI excels at automating repetitive tasks and processing large amounts of data, human oversight and expertise remains crucial

Currently, many institutions working on CLRs are solely focused on credit-bearing experiences and co-curricular experiences

This is problematic for professional and continuing education (PCE) enterprises.

CEUs rather than credit hours

comprehensive approach to systems such as Student Information Systems (SIS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and so many more (financial aid, e-commerce, etc.).

egistrars may be completely unaware that non-credit experiences should be included in a CLR or LER

This suggests that the current CLRs are firmly centered around undergraduate residential/traditional students

lifelong digital record, as opposed to separate, disconnected transcripts, experiences, badges and other credentials.

take their life’s academic achievements into the workplace, similar to their resume or LinkedIn profile.

learning and life experiences.

learning, regardless of where it occurs

comprehensive learner profile that includes more than credits and courses

Bridging the gap between the institution and the employer.

more effective and efficient ways for everyone, including the learner, to understand an individual's knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)

emove systemic barriers, facilitate recognition of KSAs, improve the hiring process, and recognize learning and achievements earned in traditional and non-traditional ways

ranscripts, licenses, certifications, and other credentials such as a resume or work history.

A microcredential is typically a type of competency or skills-based recognition that can be used to demonstrate mastery and is usually smaller than a traditional degree or certificate.

As microcredentials gain popularity, interoperability of these records becomes more and more important.

your digital credentials aren't interoperable, your learners may be unable to easily share their achievements outside of your specific LMS, wallet supplier, or digital ecosystem, reducing their value to the learner or worker.

This raises the importance of a shared language as well. A shared taxonomy of skills and sub-skills as they relate to education and employment will allow for a seamless transfer from learner credential to workforce-ready skill.

Verifiable Credentials are a specification developed by W3C to express claims made on the web in a specific structure while keeping them cryptographically secure, private, and machine-verifiable.

LER wrappers specify a universal cross-standards container for LERs to provide guidance to implement an LER using the more secure W3C Verifiable Credential structure.

Their interoperability ensures that credentials and the rich metadata within them can be read by both humans and machines

The TrustEd Microcredential Coalition plans to release the framework at the 2024 Digital Credential Summit.

By providing data that can be automatically verified and easily transferred, individuals will be able to share credentials—LERs, CLRs, documents, microcredentials, and other information—with any employer, educational institution, or perhaps a talent marketplace that could proactively identify educational or career opportunities based on that individual's skills.

The talent marketplace has potential to holistically transform hiring. Imagine a version of LinkedIn where job seekers, and employers can find each other based on verified skills required for employment. Overinflated resume statements, and cleverly worded cover letters will no longer compromise the hiring process, and verified competencies will take precedent.

Some wallet providers are independent tools that allow users to collect, i.e., move, their LER type credentials, including CLRs and Open Badges, along with other VCs and even your digital driver's license from various issuers. These wallets can give learners an easy way to share their credentials directly or bundle them to share with employers, education institutions, and others.

still verifiable due to cryptographic signature

The ideal wallet is controlled by the learner

Ultimately, success depends on all stakeholders working together and building interoperable systems that talk to one another so credentials may be received, shared, and verified by learners, institutions, and employers anywhere worldwide.

Biometric Identity Verification for Enhanced Security

In the rapidly evolving landscape of background check screening, biometric identity verification is emerging as a robust and secure method to authenticate individuals.

This technology ensures that the person screened is who they claim to be, minimizing the risk of identity fraud or misrepresentation in the hiring process.

It simplifies the onboarding process by reducing the reliance on manual checks and documentation.

Automated Talent Acquisition Systems (ATS) Integrations

Unlike earlier versions, future ATS integrations are set to offer not just simplified client onboarding and smooth data transfer but intelligent synchronization.

This means the ATS seamlessly communicates with screening processes, creating a dynamic exchange of information.

Imagine a system where a hiring team has access to a candidate’s resume and application details and receives real-time updates from ongoing screening processes.

This interconnected approach ensures decision-makers are not making choices based on static profiles but are informed by the latest insights into a candidate’s qualifications and background.

In essence, the future of ATS integrations isn’t just about data flow; it’s about creating an intelligent and real-time collaboration between recruitment and screening processes.

Predictive Analytics for Informed Decision-Making

It identifies patterns, trends, and success indicators from historical data, offering a probability-based forecast of a candidate’s future performance.

This is potentially problematic, with past-performance metrics having a limited scope of employment contexts and factors outside of the transcript.

Blockchain for Secure and Transparent Verification

If you’re new to the concept, think of Blockchain as an incorruptible digital ledger—a secure and transparent record-keeping system that ensures the integrity of data.

Once information is added to this chain, it cannot be altered or deleted without leaving a visible trace.

This means the data collected during screening—educational credentials, work history, certifications—are securely stored in a way that’s transparent and resistant to unauthorized changes.

Virtual Reality (VR) Assessments

Higher-ed institutions and employers often speak different languages around timelines, urgency, structure, and governance.

In some cases, they may point fingers at each other over who is responsible for the talent gaps.

higher-ed institutions and employers need to create partnerships by engaging in a mutually beneficial and transparent design process, anchored by data that includes projections of workforce demand, pro forma financial models, and the identification of capacity bottlenecks on both ends

40% of employees were actively job hunting and 75% of employees expected to leave their current job in the near future

2020, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics flagged the need for more nurses, estimating an additional 3.7 million new hires in the ten-year period from 2020 through 2030.

companies must excel at selecting the hard and soft skills that they need from a far wider pool of talent that many are not used to navigating.

expanding partnerships with higher-ed institutions in areas where the effects of a company’s local brand awareness, selection processes, affiliation opportunities, and alumni network can be highly advantageous.

Only 36% believe that higher-ed institutions give their graduates adequate training.

Seventy percent think that higher-ed providers should be more involved in job training, disrupting private recruiting and training companies.

Eighty-one percent believe that better aligning educational curricula with job openings and skill gaps could resolve many of the skill mismatches that employers face.

Eighty-eight percent think that higher ed could help potential hires acquire advanced technical skills, soft skills, and industry-specific knowledge.

The particulars of such agreements differ depending on the organizations, but the employer typically commits to hiring a certain percentage of graduates in one or more disciplines (providing a clear demand signal), while the institution commits to increasing the number of graduates in one or more disciplines over time.

Workforce Planning

Academic Program Design

Student Recruitment

East Tennessee State University’s partnership with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is an example of an agreement to increase the number of students graduating with technology degrees.

And a partnership between Michigan’s Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and BHSH System showcases an agreement to increase the number of graduates with a degree in nursing. (See the sidebar “A Michigan Partnership Is Set Up to Solve the Regional Nursing Shortage.”)

Some talent partnerships include new or expanded student incentives. For example, some employers offer students forgivable loans if they finish the program and take a job with their company. To have a loan completely forgiven (or paid in full), a student must remain employed at the company for a certain number of years. If a student leaves before that time, the amount forgiven is prorated.

Most employers have not created consistent skill taxonomies or, if they have, kept them updated. As a result, it is difficult for them to articulate the competencies needed and give feedback regarding an institution’s curricula and whether it is meeting their needs.

“Many CEOs and presidents say they are committed to addressing the talent pipeline but do not make it a personal or institutional priority.”

“It is important to ‘get to no’ early instead of engaging in lots of discussion. Nonstarters must be defined early on.”

Build a clear business case using hard data and specific, measurable objectives.

BlueSky Tennessee Institute’s executive director Bradley Leon puts it this way: “Businesses need to step up to better define their needs for future strategic workforce talent and ‘skilling’ in order for higher ed to be able to respond effectively.”

Instead of expecting the various internal departments of each partner to figure out how to proceed, the CEO of the company and the president or chancellor of the college or university should create a centralized engagement team.

External engagement team on the higher education side should be a separate group from advancement, and career services.

internships, apprenticeships, and cooperative education initiatives

Let company employees work at the institution—and let faculty work at the company.

“It engages faculty beyond academia, giving them exposure to industry where they get to see the problems people in industry face and can incorporate those examples into the classroom from their own experience. It also provides faculty with direct feedback from their alumni on what curricular lessons have been most useful on the job.”

In the US, many states have received federal funding, including from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. They are using the funds to drive economic vitality in several ways, such as to spur higher ed–employer partnerships and workforce reskilling programs, as well as to offer financial incentives to encourage students, higher-ed institutions, and employers to stay local.

An Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development report showed that highly skilled jobs increased by 25% over the last 20 years, and that before 2030 more than a billion jobs worldwide will be transformed.

In the U.S. for example, LinkedIn has seen a huge increase in job postings requiring skills instead of credentials.

organizations poorly specify how they define skills,

he bad news is that because gen AI is built from the sum of all the knowledge humans have accumulated up until this point, hard skills are going to have a much shorter half-life. That means that urgently sourcing an excel guru last year was critical, this year it matters much less because ChatGPT can code better than 90% of humans.

LinkedIn has reported that 92% of managers believe soft skills matter as much or more than hard skills at work.

Stop using traditional credentials

Emphasize potential

Focus on soft skills rather than hard skills.

one million credentials,

more granular talent signaling system

They help learners manage unbundled learning by collecting evidence from multiple providers and provide quicker and more personalized onramps to high-wage employment.

North Dakota implemented the first state-sponsored digital credential wallet for high school students during the 2022-23 school year. In Texas, students in the Dallas College system have access to their transcript via Greenlight Credentials, which they can selectively choose to share with employers. In New Hampshire, Concord’s Community College NHTI, is rolling out verified credentials in partnership with ProofSpace to store learner outcomes and extra-curricular experiences.

Great resources for future development

“improve student agency in learning,  provide real-world context and the opportunity to look at learning through a different lens, and promote the idea that schools should be part of and not apart from the community.”

Education is ready for a learner-centered digital learning and employment record stored in a digital wallet (or a set of interoperable wallets) owned by the learner.

Inaccuracy in matching potential employees to employers due to the relatively limited methods to verify learning

using degrees as a proxy for new workplace talent which excludes significant numbers of potential candidates for employment.

Inability to share skills and competencies from non-degree programs, incomplete degrees

Cost of requesting and sharing proof of competency

While platforms like LinkedIn can publicly display this type of information, the LER adds verification to the record.

wallet is owned by the individual

decentralized blockchain architecture (Make highlight private.+which generally means that the wallet platform is not owned by/stored on a single platform).

The CLR is the recommended standard for lifetime learning records by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

A credential that can be cryptographically verified and is not alterable

birth certificates, employee identification cards and records and educational certificates

In systems based on Web3 architecture, this can be done in a trustless environment, where interactions between two parties does not have to be mediated by a trusted third party.

Through the ecosystem, individuals will have the ability to move data into and out of wallets, as well as between wallets.

Organizations such as Velocity Network Foundation and Lightcast optimize the match between employers and prospective hires by scanning job databases and matching them with the public data from learner wallets or other collections of verified skills.

Identity fraud will be reduced and the level of granularity to describe the skills of a learner will improve.

widespread adoption in the K12, higher ed, credentialing and employment sector.

Displacing legacy practices such as digital transcripts that cannot be machine read, paying for paper copies of transcripts to be shared, and employer human resource departments that find it easier to use degrees as proxy for talent will be difficult.

Governors banded together on a bipartisan basis to push for these laws, and now they are busy implementing them – breaking ground on long-planned projects.

Millions of jobs require something 62% of Americans don’t have: a college degree.

Over the past year and a half, Governors in more than a dozen states have taken steps to remove this barrier in the public sector by removing bachelor’s degree requirements.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued an executive order on his first day in office in 2023 removing four-year degree requirements from roughly 92 percent of positions in state government – opening up approximately 65,000 jobs.

In addition to filling vacancies critical to state governments’ ability to serve citizens, Governors aim to spur the private sector to open the door to the millions of Americans who are “Skilled Through Alternative Routes” – or STAR workers.

70 million workers, half the U.S. workforce, are considered STARs,

Major employers including Accenture, Apple, General Motors, Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Walmart have dropped some degree requirements in favor of skills-based hiring.

The percentage of job listings requiring four-year degrees declined from 51% in 2017 to 44% in 2021,

In 2024 State of the State addresses, Governors detailed an array of innovative job training initiatives – including apprenticeships, community college programs, and work-based learning initiatives – designed to prepare workers for growing opportunities to fill jobs of today and tomorrow.

Revolutionizing Electric Vehicle Education, or REVVED, collaborative.

7,000 jobs expected to open up when two new EV battery plants come online in his state

$25 million investment in Elizabethtown Community and Technical College to support its cutting-edge EV training center.

States are working together on solutions through NGA’s Next Generation of the Healthcare Workforce Project, which kicked off with 16 states in 2022 and now includes 26 states and territories.

Even finding a job takes computer skills. Yet another study shows that more than one-third of American adults have limited or no digital skills.

States are tackling the digital divide through a number of policies, including boosting K-12 computer science education and expanding broadband access to underserved and rural communities.

Their research determined that each additional point added to an Oklahoma worker’s “digital skills score,” is associated with an extra $781 in annual earnings. Armed with this information, Governor Stitt’s administration is partnering with an Oklahoma company to find rural jobseekers interested in remote work and connect them with digital training to put them on the company’s job track.

Traditional Methods: Historically, skills were verified through reference checks, interviews, or on-the-job observation.Tech-Driven Shift: With the rise of digital platforms, the verification process has moved online, with interactive assessments, simulations, and more.

Coding Tests: Platforms like HackerRank and Codility allow employers to assess the coding skills of tech candidates.Simulation Tools: Simulators recreate job environments, enabling candidates to showcase their skills in real-world scenarios.Gamified Assessments: These combine game elements with skill tests, making the evaluation process engaging.Language Proficiency Tests: Tools like Duolingo English Test provide an online platform to gauge language competency.

Advanced Analytics: AI can analyze assessment results to predict a candidate's job performance and cultural fit.

If not done carefully, this can also impose implicit bias.

Bias Minimization: AI-driven tools, when properly designed, can offer more objective assessments compared to human evaluations.

“Skilled Through Alternative Routes”

STARs make up 50% of the American workforce, and yet the traditional hiring techniques used by many employers – including resume review and degree requirements – exclude them from roles where they can demonstrate their value.[1]

skills-based hiring can help tear the paper ceiling.

Community collegeWorkforce trainingCertification programsMilitary servicePersonal interestsVolunteer work

degree inflation – a boom in demand for workers with bachelor’s degrees in roles that didn’t previously require them.

I have also heard of this referenced at "educational inflation" where employment that once required a bachelors degree, not requires a masters, and so on...

degree gap concentrated in “middle-skill” jobs: roles that require some training after high school, though not a college degree. 

Many of these middle-skill jobs are affected by automation, and so employers reach for a four-year degree as a marker of basic computer literacy skills, needlessly cutting out many qualified candidates.

in 2015, 67% of production supervisor job postings asked for a college degree, although only 16% of then-employed production supervisors actually had one.

When degree inflation becomes an obstacle to job seekers who don’t hold degrees, denying them access to jobs that they have the skills for, this is known as

Thanks to degree inflation, when workers don’t have the degree required to advance to “middle-skill” positions, they remain stuck in low-wage jobs.

Even if employers are willing to look past the fact that STARs don’t have a degree, they might still view their skills as “unverified”

There’s no standard format to a resume, so they do not always contain the same types of information for every candidate

They often focus on responsibilities rather than skills 

more than 90% of employers use recruitment management systems to filter or rank potential middle-skills (94%) and high-skills (92%) candidates.

Here are four reasons you should prioritize opening your hiring process to STARs.1. They represent more than 70 million workers

Around 60% of American workers over the age of 25 do not hold a four-year degree,

STARs account for as many as 70 million workers total in the US workforce.

Resumes suck

Just wanted to highlight this in solidarity with the statement.

it’s actually in the interest of employers to tear down the paper ceiling – without it, they can access a bigger pool of talent.

. Excluding STARs disproportionately affects minority candidates

women with children under 10 were considering leaving the workforce was 10% higher than men in the same group.

adding a four-year degree requirement alone automatically screens out 76% of African Americans and 83% of Hispanic workers as well as 81% of Americans in rural communities.

Diverse hiring promotes employee wellbeing and innovation

Even if a STAR hire comes from a similar demographic to your existing team members, the alternative routes through which they’ve gained their skills give them a different perspective when it comes to approaching business challenges.

according to Deloitte research, which shows that diversity of thinking increases innovation by about 20%.

college is not the only place that people can learn

As an employer, the paper ceiling is not your friend.

Every degree curriculum is different, and the quality of education can vary widely between different college experiences.

The lesson here isn’t necessarily that STARs have these skills and graduates don’t. It’s that shedding arbitrary standards like degree requirements gives employers access to a wider pool of candidates who are equally as likely to be skilled. Tear the paper ceiling, and you might just find your dream hire.

Perfectly stated.

skills-based hiring methods like pre-interview testing offer a new way to recruit that enables employers to:Identify key skills areas for each role they’re hiring forTest every candidate in each skillCompare and shortlist candidates based on this objective dataReduce bias in the interview process

Structured interview techniques can also help you reduce bias in interviews, particularly when backed up by the data you’ve already gathered using skills testing.

Indeed, according to our State of Skills-Based Hiring 2022 report, 91.1% of organizations saw an increase in diversity after switching to skills-based hiring.

With a structured interview, the benchmark for a good answer is set beforehand

First up: Assess the skills of your employees to find the skills that your team has and that are required for each role. 

You almost certainly have a skills gap in your workforce: 87% of companies worldwide report either already having one, or expect to have one within a few years.

Replace degree requirements as a screening tool with pre-employment skills testing in the core skill areas you’ve identified by assessing your employees and conducting a skills gap analysis.

State of Skills-Based Hiring report found that 92.5% of organizations saw a reduction in mis-hires after switching to skills-based hiring.