{"id":7431,"date":"2018-09-06T10:14:45","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T14:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=7431"},"modified":"2021-01-29T09:20:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T14:20:39","slug":"how-apple-hires-the-best-its-all-about-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/how-apple-hires-the-best-its-all-about-skills","title":{"rendered":"How Apple Hires the Best: It’s All About Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Apple and Google have made headlines by no longer requiring college degrees<\/a>, but they are not the only companies to reconsider their educational demands in the digital age.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A report from <\/span>Glassdoor<\/span> claims that a number of marquee companies are dropping the requirement of a four-year degree, including IBM, Costco, Hilton, Nordstrom and Bank of America. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And according to economic experts, it\u2019s long overdue that employers look past rigid educational requirements to find the best and most dynamic talent on the market.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s economy, we cannot afford to let the lack of a college degree become a barrier to entering the workforce or seeking their careers,\u201d a 2017  Harvard Business Review <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCompetency is more important than credentials. Degree inflation is not just hurting individual workers; it undermines American competitiveness. American companies can\u2019t let that happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This kind of thinking is catching on, creating a sea change in hiring practices at some of the world\u2019s most innovative companies. Here are some reasons why. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It Can Increase Diversity<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Penguin Random House announced plans in 2016 to drop degree requirements for new hires, the company noted that there was \u201cno simple correlation between having a degree and ongoing performance in work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But just as importantly, the company felt that its degree demands were a roadblock to diversity.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to attract the best people to help grow and shape the future of our company, regardless of their background \u2013 and that means that we need to think and act differently. Simply, if you\u2019re talented and you have potential, we want to hear from you,\u201d <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> Group HR Director Neil Morrison.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the starting point for our concerted action to make publishing far, far more inclusive than it has been to date,\u201d he added. \u201cWe believe this is critical to our future: to publish the best books that appeal to readers everywhere, we need to have people from different backgrounds with different perspectives and a workforce that truly reflects today\u2019s society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, colleges in the U.S. and around the world continue to struggle with <\/span>inequality and a lack of diversity among their student populations<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest reason for this is economic. While <\/span>83 percent<\/span><\/a> of students from high-income families in the U.S. enroll in college, only <\/span>63 percent<\/span> from low- and middle-income families do the same. In total, 44.2 million Americans are now carrying <\/span>student loan debt<\/span>, and those Americans owe more than $1.48 trillion collectively \u2013 roughly $620 billion more than total U.S. credit card debt.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are therefore surely many talented, bright candidates who have the minds but not the means to attain a four-year degree.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a Drastic Shortage of Workers With Digital Skills<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By now, you might have heard that there\u2019s a huge \u2013 and growing \u2013 demand for tech talent<\/a> and simply not enough skilled workers to meet it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2018 Harvey Nash-KPMG CIO Survey <\/span>reported<\/span> that a staggering 65 percent said a lack of talent was holding their organization back. In Canada, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) <\/span>found<\/span> that Canada would need an additional 182,000 skilled technology workers by 2019. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping in mind that only a third of American adults have a college degree, it\u2019s clear that any company limiting their candidate search to that very narrow pool is going to struggle to hire the right people.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skills and Experience Matter Most<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In an influential 2016 column for USA Today, IBM President and CEO Ginni Rometty wrote about the rise of \u201cnew collar\u201d jobs that employers were struggling mightily to fill, specifically in the technology sector.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She argued that updating traditional job criteria would be essential to meeting that demand, and added that at a number of IBM\u2019s locations in the U.S., as many as a third of employees didn\u2019t have a four-year degree.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew collar jobs may not require a traditional college degree,\u201d she <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a>. \u201cWhat matters most is that these employees \u2026 have relevant skills. Indeed, skills matter for all of these new positions, even if they are not always acquired in traditional ways,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another <\/span>report<\/span> by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association found that 55 percent of hiring managers say practical, hands-on experience is the most important qualification for a candidate. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bootcamps and Digital Skills Training Are Gaining Prestige<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Where a decade ago tech bootcamps and other digital skills training companies were few and far between, students can now earn certifications and undergo intensive re-training programs at institutions that are widely respected in the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BrainStation, for instance, has trained more than 70,000 digital professionals since launching in 2012, with certificate courses in five disciplines: <\/span>data science<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>UX design<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>web development<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>digital marketing<\/a>, <\/span>and <\/span>product management<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many experts expect that companies will only move farther away from rigid educational requirements in the years to come. A <\/span>study from ZipRecruiter<\/span> found that \u201csignificant success\u201d is being made toward creating that \u201cnew-collar\u201d job market, with even more progress predicted in the very near future<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew collar jobs are important today, and they\u2019ll likely become even more important as technological progress continues to accelerate, college costs continue to rise, and fewer and fewer traditional employment opportunities are available,\u201d read the report. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTech jobs require a unique skill set, and a traditional bachelor\u2019s degree is only one way of many to obtain those skills. To hire the most qualified applications, hiring managers need to lessen the focus on what degrees applicants have, and instead strive to hire the right applicants with the right skills.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apple, Google, and a number of marquee companies no longer require a college degree. Here’s why. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[533],"tags":[147,559,238,429,167,560],"yoast_head":"\nHow Apple Hires the Best: It's All About Skills<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Apple, Google, and a number of marquee companies around the world no longer require a college degree. 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