“Education is the manifestation of perfection already in men.”
~ Swami Vivekananda
Do you need a college degree for this manifestation?
Take a look at this list:
- Apple
- Starbucks
- IBM
- Bank of America
- Penguin Random House
- Costco Wholesale
- Whole Foods
- Hilton
- Publix
- Nordstrom
- Home Depot
- Chipotle
- Lowe’s
These are some of the top companies of the world. This list would make every skilled job seeker with talent and grit but no college degree, feel optimistic. These companies do not mandate potential employees to have college degrees. If their skillsets, work ethics, and aptitude align with the company’s requirement, they get hired, academic qualifications no longer dampening the prospects.
According to Maggie Stilwell, the managing partner for talent at Ernst and Young, “Academic qualifications will still be taken into account and indeed remain an important consideration when assessing candidates as a whole, but will no longer act as a barrier to getting a foot in the door.”
Formal Education in perspective with work excellence
Mark Twain once made this witty remark:
“Don’t let your boy’s schooling interfere with his education.”
This quote has stood the test of time. Schools and colleges often lag behind in imparting important life skills to students. Plus, there are many talented students who are either self-taught or possess the skills that were never really a part of their academic journeys.
Take a look at another list:
- Bill Gates
- Steve Jobs
- Michael Dell
- Mark Zuckerberg
- John Mackey
- Travis Kalanick
- Jan Koum
- Larry Ellison
- Evan Williams
- Julian Assange
These are super successful individuals who were actually college dropouts, and their success stories precede them.
Not every college dropout is a Bill Gates though. But there might be many who can easily fit into the enterprise landscape with non-traditional education owing to their expertise acquired through a coding boot camp, or e-learning, or industry-related vocational courses. These candidates definitely deserve an opportunity. In the words of Laszlo Bock:
“When you look at people who don’t go to school and make their way in the world, those are exceptional human beings. And we should do everything we can to find those people.”
The “No Degree Needed” strategy helps bridge the talent gap
The “No Degree Needed” strategy or simply, skills-based hiring, will benefit enterprises quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitatively, it will create a greater pool of aspiring candidates. Qualitatively, it will create a diverse workforce while keeping the hiring cost down. College graduates without skills cost a company lot more than their dropped out counterparts.
Skills-based hiring will, thus, mitigate the widening skills gap.
A Commitment towards Eternal Learning
Rapid technology innovation makes learning a long-term, on-going process for a successful career. This commitment to eternal learning will not come from the traditional academic context, but with more focus on corporate/workforce training and self-motivated learning. Independent learning will hone one’s skill-sets with, or without, an academic degree and make them the job-perfect candidate. Cognixia, a digital workforce solutions company is committed to change perceptions and bring about transformation, one skilled person at a time. Our range of courses in emerging technologies , help individuals and professionals build their skills and focus on learning what interests them. Reach out to us to know more.
