{"id":1234,"date":"2023-12-13T15:54:43","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sense.hr\/blog\/are-degrees-going-out-of-fashion-with-employers\/"},"modified":"2023-12-13T15:54:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T15:54:43","slug":"are-degrees-going-out-of-fashion-with-employers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sense.hr\/blog\/are-degrees-going-out-of-fashion-with-employers\/","title":{"rendered":"Are degrees going out of fashion with employers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n For the last 50 years, the undergraduate degree has been considered the blue-ribbon qualification. Historically, graduates have generally been more employable than non-graduates and have tended to earn more than non-graduates in the long term. But, in more recent times, the value of a degree is being questioned. \n<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s not quite degree Armageddon but there\u2019s a significant downtrend in their importance to employers.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n This report by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) published at the end of 2022, found that the number of people managers requiring a 2:1 degree as minimum entry criteria for graduate jobs has dropped to 48%. This is the first time in the history of the ISE survey that the percentage of employers requiring a 2:1 degree had dropped to less than half.\n<\/p>\n

\n The report also showed that since 2013 people managers are increasingly advertising positions with no minimum requirements and the number of employers adopting this approach has grown sharply from 21% to 26% in the past year. \n<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s not quite degree Armageddon, (as a 2:1 degree is still the most common requirement for graduate roles), but it is still a significant downward trend and a historical milestone in the importance of degrees to employers. \n<\/p>\n

\n Totaljobs have weighed in on the debate with a big data analysis<\/a> of over 365,505 job adverts, the results of which were press-released in August this year. They found that the proportion of entry-level jobs that reference a degree has declined by 31% since 2019.\n<\/p>\n

A desire for diversity and inclusion is leading employers to look outside the graduate box<\/h2>\n

\n Even though it\u2019s not degree Armageddon, it\u2019s clear that degrees are not as fashionable as they once were with employers. What is the reason behind this trend?\n<\/p>\n

\n Julian Probst, European Labour Economist at Totaljobs <\/a>has provided some insights into their data analysis.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cEmployers seeking to foster a diverse and successful working environment are looking beyond traditional talent pools, [Graduates] whether that\u2019s targeting varying socio-economic groups, different parts of the UK, or supporting those with less education through more practical onboarding programmes.\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n So, a desire for greater diversity and inclusion is leading employers to look outside graduate talent pools. We saw a specific example of this with Kellogg\u2019s UK who in June this year announced that they have removed requirements for job applicants at their HQ to have a degree to make them a more \u2018inclusive\u2019 employer.\n<\/p>\n

\n Apparently, in 2022 they trialled hiring sales staff without degrees, and it was such a success they are rolling it out across the business.\n<\/p>\n

\n Chris Silcock Kelloggs UK MD said:\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAt Kellogg we believe everyone should have a place at the table and by ditching the need to have a degree we hope more people from different backgrounds will consider Kellogg as somewhere for their career, not just those who went to university.\u201d<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

Are degrees properly preparing graduates for the workplace?<\/h2>\n

\n Also, recent research from tech start-up multiverse<\/a> suggests that 70% of senior people managers believe that the current higher education system is failing to give students the skills they need to thrive in the modern workplace.\n<\/p>\n

\n Could this perceived lack of workplace readiness of modern graduates be contributing to corporate disillusionment with degree qualifications?\n<\/p>\n

Qualification-blind recruitment is further diminishing the the value of a degree<\/h2>\n

\n We are seeing the emergence of the new phenomenon of qualification-blind recruitment which is further diminishing the value of a degree in hiring.\n<\/p>\n

\n 33% of HR professionals are planning<\/a> to adopt qualification-blind recruitment in the future, while at the same time placing greater reliance on skills-based recruitment<\/a> and apprenticeships. Degrees will simply be excluded from some selection processes.\n<\/p>\n

This is not about degree-bashing; education is a good thing<\/h2>\n

\n We are not here to bash degrees, as education is a good thing and half of employers still rely on degrees for graduate-level job applications, so they remain important.\n<\/p>\n

\n But as HR professionals and people managers, we shouldn\u2019t ignore the fact that the industry at large does not attach as much importance to them as it once did. \n<\/p>\n

\n There is a growing belief that to build a more diverse, adaptable, and effective organisation, employers will need to recruit heavily from outside the orthodox graduate box to draw in a broader and more diverse set of skills and qualities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The number of employers requiring a 2:1 degree from candidates has dropped to less than half for the first time in history. Are degrees going out of fashion?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hr"],"yoast_head":"\nAre degrees going out of fashion with employers? - Sense HR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The number of employers requiring a 2:1 degree from candidates has dropped to less than half for the first time in history. 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