UK employers downgrade importance of educational qualifications

Posted by author August 29, 2024 Jobs

New research has revealed that nearly two-thirds (65%) of UK employers now consider educational qualifications less important when hiring.

A study by hiring platform Indeed found that only 14% of UK job postings on its site mention any educational qualifications.

The company said its findings had signalled “a significant shift in the job market”.

In stark contrast to the UK findings, almost 50% of job postings in the US state educational requirements.

According to Indeed, this suggested a cultural difference between the two countries, with UK employers more likely to assume qualifications were met rather than explicitly state them in job postings.

The researchers claimed there was also growing evidence that highly technical occupations were increasingly embracing skills-based hiring.

Although 61% of UK employers still considered university degrees during candidate screening, only 5% of job postings explicitly required one, the study found.

Indeed’s research showed that more than half (52%) of UK sectors now had lower degree requirements compared with six years ago. This shift was particularly evident in high-skill technical occupations, some of which were on the UK’s skilled worker visa list, encouraging businesses to prioritise skills over formal education. For example, jobs in mathematics had seen a 7% decline in degree requirements between 2018 and 2024, with similar declines in social sciences and information design roles.

However, some, more highly regulated professions, were seeing an increase in educational requirements. Postings in dental occupations, civil engineering, therapy, veterinary science, and scientific research had all seen a rise in degree requirements over the past six years.

Jack Kennedy, senior UK economist at Indeed, noted that while there was a clear move towards assessing candidates based on their skills rather than just their educational qualifications, employers should be transparent about their requirements. He added: “Whether education requirements are implied or not, with labour supply remaining tight in certain sectors of the UK economy, a move to skills-first hiring may be a wise move for employers needing to extend candidate pools.

“People considering the next steps in their education should be reassured that while educational qualifications are important in some industries, there are many roles that take into account a range of skills and experience alongside education to measure suitability for a job.”