Skills-based hiring
What is skills-based hiring? Why is it on the rise, and what are the best practices for adopting it in your organization? Here’s everything you need to know about this revolutionary new approach to recruitment.
New for October 2023: The world's only report on the State of Skills-Based Hiring. Out now!
Used by 500K+ recruiters
Browse topics
Understanding skills-based hiring
Benefits of skills-based hiring
Skills-based hiring practices
Implementing skills-based hiring
Skills-based hiring resources
Frequently asked questions
Skills-based hiring is the best way to recruit
Our data shows extraordinary outcomes for employers and candidates
88%
of employers say skills-based hiring reduces mis-hires
86%
of employees say skills-based hiring can help them land their dream job
82%
of companies report a reduction in total cost-of-hire
76%
of skills-based hires are happy in their role
The state of skills-based hiring in 2023
Recruitment is changing fast. Over the past year we’ve seen the red-hot candidate market give way to recessionary fears, and the rise of AI-based tools that promise a brand-new world of work. As businesses reshape their workforces to deal with these challenges, skills-based hiring has emerged as the preferred tool to find and secure talent..
In the world's only annual report on skills-based hiring, we deep dive into the revolutionary recruitment trend to find out how employers are leveraging this approach, how it’s affecting candidate experience in the current job market, and what the adoption of skills-based hiring practices means for diversity efforts across organizations.
What is skills-based hiring?
Looking to make faster, more accurate, and higher quality recruitment decisions? At a time when great talent comes at a significant premium employers are realizing that they need tools to assess candidates’ skills more quickly and reliably. Enter skills-based hiring. Read on to find out how this new approach to recruitment is driving managers to ditch resumes and expand their applicant pools.
Read more
What is skills-based hiring?
Skills-based hiring is a hiring process where evidence of candidates’ skills, rather than other information such as their prior experience or where they were e..
Skills-based hiring is on the rise. What does this mean for recruitment?
In case you didn't know yet, skills-based hiring is on the rise. In this article, we’ll use data we collected from 3,000 employers and employees to discuss the...
How skills-based hiring delivers what job candidates want in 2023
Job candidates are putting their desires front and center when searching for a new job in 2023. In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Great R...
How the focus on skills in hiring is driving the degree “reset” – and where universities...
One of the most controversial calls to action of skills-based hiring is for employers to ditch the typical requirement for a university degree and tear the pa...
How skills-based hiring can change the way we view retention and internal mobility
Career progression is, understandably, front-of-mind for employees when evaluating whether to stay with their current employer or search elsewhere. In 2022...
How skills-based hiring helps STARs tear down the paper ceiling
We know how this headline sounds, but no, this blog post isn’t about helping Dua Lipa start a new career as a warehouse supervisor. The term “STAR” actually sta...
Why skills-based hiring?
Our data shows that 76% of employers are ready to make the switch to skills-based hiring. Find out why skills-based hiring is on the rise and the wide-ranging benefits it can bring to your business.
Learn more
10 stories that demonstrate the power of skills-based hiring
We’ve been carefully building a team since TestFounder launched over two years ago, and today we hired our 100th team member. We practice wha..
5 business benefits of skills-based hiring
Skills-based hiring requires hiring managers to break from traditional recruitment practices and adopt a new mindset. But as well as being a fairer way to ide..
Skills-based hiring and lowering costs
Hiring costs add up very quickly if an efficient process is not in place. Traditional hiring methods are bogged down with direct costs, like recruiter fees and the co...
How skills-based hiring can build a culture of belonging
When employees feel like they belong at work and are an integral part of a close-knit team, the results are far-reaching: Their job performance increases by 56...
Skills-based success: 10 recruiting case studies
The working world has been turned on its head with the pandemic, the Great Reshuffle, and the resulting skills shortage. Companies are searching for a power...
4 reasons employers hire faster with skills-based hiring
It's safe to say that traditional hiring methods aren't saving time for anyone. Job seekers spend hours tweaking resumes, whilst recruiters spend their days...
Who is using skills-based hiring?
Skills-based hiring has quickly become a global trend helping reshape recruitment practices across many regions and industries. From the United States to Singapore, recruiters are embracing skills-based hiring to attract and keep top global talent. Reasons for its popularity differ across regions. Some use it to streamline high-volume hiring, while others are using it build fairer, more diverse teams. Read on to find out who is using skills-based hiring and how they will benefit.
By Region
Skills-based hiring around the world: Who’s leading the charge?
If you aren’t doing it yet, that’s ok: 58% of companies we surveyed only just adopted skills-based hiring in the past two years. But from the United States to Sin..
What these 5 US states can teach us about skills-based hiring
States across the US are implementing a skills-based approach to hiring and rewriting the rules to traditional hiring practices. Instead of evaluating can...
What businesses can learn from skills-based hiring trends in Asia-Pacific
The global skills shortage is ongoing. Many skilled workers are being turned away by employers because of a lack of formal education or experience on their r...
By Role
How to take a skills-based approach to blue-collar recruitment
Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to fill their blue-collar job openings. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Great Resignation have contributed to this h...
How to recruit for white-collar jobs using skills-based hiring
White-collar jobs can be really difficult to hire for because the roles and responsibilities of white-collar workers are often a blend of high-level hard and soft...
How skills-based hiring is transforming entry-level hiring
Entry-level jobs are historically difficult to fill, with 41% of recruiters reporting that they are the hardest positions to hire for.[1] Although many employers bl...
By Industry
Hiring for startups: Should you hire for a short-term fit or the potential to scale?
When you’re launching a startup, building the right team is everything: 14% of startups fail due to not having the right people on board.[1] And yet, it’s frau...
Skills-based hiring in the healthcare industry
The healthcare industry is one of the largest in the US. The market size was valued at $359.2bn in 2022 and is projected to reach $781.5bn by 2030.[1] This mas...
What’s causing inequality in STEM, and is skills-based hiring the solution?
It’s well-known that STEM industries – industries under the umbrella of science, technology, engineering, and math – are some of the least divers...
How to implement skills-based hiring
Skills-based hiring is a broad hiring approach that covers everything from job descriptions and talent assessments, to structured interviews and work samples. Find out how to implement skills-based hiring for your organization in the best possible way.
Read more
What is skills-based hiring?
Skills-based hiring is a hiring process where evidence of candidates’ skills, rather than other information such as their prior experience or where they were e..
Skills-based hiring is on the rise. What does this mean for recruitment?
In case you didn't know yet, skills-based hiring is on the rise. In this article, we’ll use data we collected from 3,000 employers and employees to discuss the...
How skills-based hiring delivers what job candidates want in 2023
Job candidates are putting their desires front and center when searching for a new job in 2023. In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Great R...
How the focus on skills in hiring is driving the degree “reset” – and where universities...
One of the most controversial calls to action of skills-based hiring is for employers to ditch the typical requirement for a university degree and tear the pa...
How skills-based hiring can change the way we view retention and internal mobility
Career progression is, understandably, front-of-mind for employees when evaluating whether to stay with their current employer or search elsewhere. In 2022...
How skills-based hiring helps STARs tear down the paper ceiling
We know how this headline sounds, but no, this blog post isn’t about helping Dua Lipa start a new career as a warehouse supervisor. The term “STAR” actually sta...
Skills-based hiring resources
Skills-based hiring is a growing trend that shows no signs of abating, with 53.4% of respondents believing it will be the dominant hiring method in the future. Stay ahead of the curve by reading all the insights from our annual report, and explore our range of resources to help you make better skills-based hiring decisions.
Report
TestFounder's annual report: The State of Skills Based Hiring
Science series
Explore our science series to learn more about the science behind skills-based hiring
Skills-based hiring FAQ
Whats is skills-based hiring?
How does skills-based hiring work?
What are the benefits of skills-based hiring?
How do you adopt skills-based hiring practices?
What are the challenges of implementing skills-based hiring?
What is a skills-based organization?
How does skills-based hiring impact diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) effort?)
Does skills-based hiring impact gender equity?
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