SkillsFuture’s latest Jobs-Skills Insights reveals that nearly 40% of workers with diplomas and below demonstrate high skills proficiency, yet many are still excluded from growth opportunities and face fewer pathways for their skills to progress or be recognised. Degree holders, meanwhile, continue to see the biggest rise in demand.
This mismatch signals a simple truth: Employers are overlooking qualified, capable talent that is already in the market, or in their organisation.
So, why do degree filters still persist?
Summer Phua, Associate Director, Staffing Recruitment at Adecco, says this stems from misconceptions that have been reinforced by cultural and organisational norms, particularly in industries where formal education is highly valued.
According to Summer, non-degree holders are often perceived as primarily suited for junior roles or seen as executors instead of strategic thinkers and leaders. As a result, the perception that managerial-and-above roles require degrees often persists, even when performance data suggests otherwise.
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Summer adds that many organisations also treat degrees as a shortcut for assessing 3Cs: Competence, Commitment, and Capability. However, while certain technical, specialised, and regulated roles genuinely require formal qualifications, there are many others, such as service, sales, and operational roles that prioritise other qualities like:
- Practical experience
- Interpersonal strengths
- Adaptability
- Proven results
- Transferable skills
The cost of degree-first hiring
The widening gap between degree and non-degree holders shows a talent pool that could be better utilised. Companies that fail to act risk continuing to fall short in fully leveraging their workforce to achieve business objectives.
When firms rely on degrees, even when not essential, Summer says businesses are at risk of:
- Smaller and less diverse talent pools
- Longer hiring cycles
- Limited ability to promote effectively
- Slower organisational agility
“One of the most visible talent shortages lies in technology and data roles, particularly in areas like AI development, cybersecurity, and software engineering. These positions often remain vacant for months because organisations continue to prioritise degree requirements, even when candidates with relevant certifications, bootcamp training, or proven project experience can perform the role effectively,” she adds.
In a nutshell, degree-first hiring is costing businesses time and talent.
A better way forward with the skills-first approach
Simply put, skills-first hiring shifts the focus from credentials — to capabilities and potential.
The Jobs-Skills Insights report recommends the following four skills-first practices for companies to unlock the full value of their business and workforce transformation:
- Hiring based on skills, not just traditional academic qualifications
- Designing jobs that better utilise skills across the workforce
- Developing skills that are aligned to current and future business needs
- Rewarding contributions from skills
Let’s break these down together. Yang Silin, Deputy Director at the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL), explains how organisations can apply and integrate the four skills-first practices into their business and people strategies.
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1) Hiring based on skills, not just traditional academic qualifications
Companies can:
- Articulate job descriptions using Singapore’s job-task-skill framework
- Identify the in-demand and emerging skills required for each role
- Design ways for candidates to demonstrate their attitude, skills, and capability
2) Designing jobs that better utilise skills across the workforce
Companies can:
- Keep track of employees’ skills capability
- Prepare staff for job content changes and/or new job roles by creating personalised learning plans
- Support workers’ transition through skills development and coaching
3) Developing skills that are aligned to current and future business needs
Companies can:
- Support employees who need to transition roles for business or personal reasons
- Perform pre-emptive upskilling and reskilling
- Provide work projects to support new skills use
- Offer person-centric skills development opportunities
- Offer job role-skills development pathway options
4) Rewarding contributions from skills
Companies can:
- Monitor skills inventory within the company
- Mobilise employees for work/projects based on skills
- Recognise skills proficiency
- Motivate staff to upskill through rewards and compensation
Real examples from employers in Singapore
Skills-first hiring works across industries in Singapore — from manufacturing to precision engineering and retail. Here’s proof it works.
Keystone Cable: Hiring for agility and intent
As a niche cables manufacturer for various industries, Keystone Cable found that degree-based hiring proved impractical and ineffective as no one graduates with cable-specific knowledge.
Pearl Yu, Director at Keystone Cable, explains that what matters more in a candidate is their potential: do they show agility and curiosity to learn on the job, have a willingness to contribute to the team, and have problem-solving instincts? She also shares how adopting a skills-first approach has allowed the company to widen their talent pool and improve retention rates.
Cragar Industries: Skills-based redesign that brought tangible results
Specialising in precision manufacturing of component parts for the optics and biomedical industry, Cragar Industries moved away from seniority-based systems for technical roles, and towards skills-based job descriptions. This move opened the door to the recruitment of mid-career switchers and non-traditional candidates.
To reinforce the value of upskilling, the company has also linked part of remuneration to skill proficiency. In addition, performance reviews now factor in skills application, so it links learning with one’s career progression. These approaches have delivered measurable impact:
- Hiring timelines dropped by 25%
- Employee turnover decreased by 15%
- Internal mobility increased as employees moved laterally into roles that align with their evolving skills
On Cheong Jewellery: Valuing transferable skills over industry experience
To overcome manpower shortages and build agility, On Cheong Jewellery — a heritage SME in Singapore’s jewellery sector — decided to broaden its hiring criteria beyond conventional profiles. This allowed them to recruit candidates from adjacent sectors such as hospitality and retail for customer-facing roles, prioritising transferable skills like communication, service excellence, and adaptability.
Complementing this approach is their implementation of structured onboarding and industry-specific training, including gemstone identification, design software, and digital point-of-sale systems. These initiatives allow On Cheong Jewellery to ensure that hires without domain expertise can quickly acquire technical competencies while leveraging existing strengths.
The future is skills-first
Good news: Summer observes a growing openness to skills-first hiring, especially among SMEs: “Employers are starting to value practical skills and results over paper qualifications. By removing barriers for non-degree holders, companies can build stronger, more diverse talent and leadership pipelines for the future.”
Pointing to some of the most successful people of the 21st century, such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg, Summer emphasises how they, too, were not traditional degree holders. “Strategic thinking and leadership are not exclusive to degree-holders — they are skills that everyone can learn.”
Closer to home, the list goes on. Summer speaks of Sam Goi, the “Popiah King” and chairman of Tee Yih Jia, who dropped out of school after Secondary 4, Ian Ang, co-founder of Secretlab, who dropped out of university, and Rachel Lim, co-founder of Love, Bonito, who also dropped out of school to launch her business. Taken together, these examples highlight that while formal educational qualifications remain an important foundation, real-world success is also shaped by practical experience, drive, and one’s ability to spot and act on opportunities.
Ultimately, hiring for capabilities over credentials benefits not just individuals, but businesses too. And it’s not only fairer, but also more strategic, enabling companies to unlock fresh and untapped talent to build a more agile and competitive workforce.
