Minnesota Skills-Based Hiring Accelerator
What are Skills-Based Practices?
Skills-based practices refer to talent acquisition and development strategies that focus on a set of objectively defined skills, rather than more broad credentials such as college degrees, years of experience, or past job titles. This means companies use hiring criteria and systems that assess candidates and develop staff based on the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to do a job.
Examples of skills-based hiring practices include:
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Job postings updated to emphasize necessary skills, not just degree requirements
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Job-seeker candidates are assessed and interviewed based on knowledge and skills
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Training programs are created to improve onboarding and retention
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Managers and employees are provided with information about possible career paths, the skills those paths require, and resources to develop those skills
Why is this important?
The change from credential-based systems to skills-based systems benefit both employers and employees.
Skills-based practices can help both employers and job seekers. Employers find qualified candidates and fill open positions faster, and improve employee advancement and retention.
For job seekers and employees, skills-based practices increase job satisfaction, provide opportunities for lifelong learning, and allow workers to build skills that drive career advancement.
5x Better Hiring
Hiring for skills is five times more predictive of job performance than hiring for education alone and two-and-a-half times more predictive than hiring for just work experience.
42% More Responses
Job descriptions that used more inclusive language led to 42% more responses and a two-week faster hiring time than those with less inclusive language.
More than 70% Savings
Businesses save 70-92% per employee when they use skills-based practices to build emerging skills in existing employees rather than hiring new talent.