In a fast-changing global workforce, one strategy is helping companies rise above the competition: skills-based hiring. According to Test Gorilla’s ‘The State of Skills-Based Hiring 2024’ report, 81% of employers are now using some form of skills-based hiring. This is not only what employers adopt, but also what the new workforce is scaling for. With the shift in work style and behaviour among the millennial and Gen-Z workforce, adopting a skills-based approach will expand your talent pool, as this is what they are looking for.
Here are five reasons skills-based hiring is indeed the key to getting a wider talent pool.
Table of Contents
1. Expanding the Available Talent Pool
The most direct benefit of skills-based hiring is the immediate widening of your search scope. When you move beyond degree requirements, you instantly gain access to high-potential candidates who may have:
- Gained experience through vocational training or apprenticeships.
- Developed expertise via self-learning, online courses, or bootcamps.
- Possess strong soft skills but lack the financial means or opportunity for a traditional university education.
Focusing on a candidate’s ability to do the job, their specific skills in marketing, coding, finance, or logistics, allows your recruitment team to tap into an ocean of overlooked, qualified individuals. This is how you find the diamond in the rough that your competitors miss.
2. Reducing Bias and Fostering True Diversity
Traditional recruitment processes are sometimes inherently biased. CVs often carry mostly educational background and even experiences that may be forged, which can skew the decision-making process.
Skills-based hiring introduces objectivity by requiring candidates to demonstrate their competencies through practical assessments, work samples, and structured interviews that focus solely on task execution. This emphasis on measurable skills ensures that the person who gets the job is the one most capable of performing it successfully, irrespective of their background. Asiwome Brekoro, the Project Manager of Jobberman’s HAPPY Program, said during the team’s SHE Can campaign that, “A certificate is just the beginning, not the finish line.”
3. Improving Job Performance and Long-Term Retention
When you hire based on demonstrated skills, you significantly increase the probability of a successful placement. A candidate who excels in a practical assessment simulating real-world job duties is much more likely to hit the ground running than one whose only qualification is a first-class certificate. This precision in hiring leads to:
- Higher Performance: Employees are immediately productive because they possess the exact skills needed.
- Better Fit: Candidates hired for their competence feel valued for their true contribution.
4. Streamlining and Accelerating the Recruitment Cycle
With AI in recruitment utilising the ATS, Skills-based hiring can still be incorporated. Jobberman Ghana utilises skills-based hiring by offering skills assessments during application processes. By implementing these skills assessments early in the process, we can identify qualified and competent candidates. This efficiency means key roles are filled faster, reducing the costly lag time when a position remains vacant.
5.Future-Proofing Your Workforce Through Adaptability
The fastest-growing skills in the modern economy are adaptability, critical thinking, problem-solving, and continuous learning. A skills-based hiring model focuses not only on practical or technical skills but also on soft skills.
By prioritising a candidate’s capacity to learn and apply new skills over their existing, most often obsolete knowledge, you are investing in a workforce that can quickly pivot and embrace new technologies and market challenges. For businesses like Jobberman Ghana operating in a rapidly evolving economy, hiring for adaptability is the ultimate strategy for sustained long-term success.
Skills-based hiring is a game-changer for expanding your talent pool, as it opens doors to candidates with diverse learning paths, such as vocational training and self-study, while reducing bias through objective assessments that focus on real competencies. This approach not only enhances job performance and long-term retention by matching candidates’ proven skills to job requirements but also streamlines the recruitment process by identifying qualified talent more efficiently. Most importantly, it future-proofs your workforce by prioritising adaptability and continuous learning qualities essential for success in today’s fast-evolving economy.
Are you looking to revolutionise your hiring? Find the right talent with skill assessments that get you the perfect fit.
