How can a skill-based course help you get a better job than just a graduate degree

Education degrees are no longer regarded as a reliable job filter due to the rise in people choosing to pursue Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees. So, here’s why a skill-based course is better than just a graduate degree for getting a job.

For many generations, we have dedicated one-third of our lives to obtaining college degrees to secure employment. These degrees served as stepping stones and served as the stamps on our professional passports.

This, in turn, implies that the nature of work with skills and knowledge remained stable for a longer time. Most of our parents had one job for life, but for us job hopping is a norm. Additionally, the accelerated rate of tech and digitisation has necessitated the need to upskill and reskill continuously to remain relevant in the job market.

Today, it does seem like the future of work will be all about skills, certainly more than college degrees. Many employers are now concentrating on eliminating one of the most important criteria for the job – a college degree, as the demand for jobs is high while unemployment is low.

Many employers have even lowered the minimum degree requirements for particular occupations in favour of a more skills-and experience-based approach. Likely, a college degree won’t be necessary for a few years.

In India, vocational skills are obtained through short-term training not under a course that is a part of the formal education framework. While a degree is required for occupations like medicine and engineering, IT and tech jobs frequently fall into a middle ground where the degree required varies depending on the sector, area of specialisation, employer, etc.

DEGREE EDUCATION IN INDIA

Of course, earning a degree has advantages. It improves work opportunities and fosters the growth of more profound subject knowledge. But are degrees an ideal certificate for someone’s intelligence? Not really. Passing exams is irrelevant if one cannot put your knowledge into practical situations.

When both theoretical and practical abilities are emphasised, a degree is valuable. Education degrees are no longer regarded as a reliable job filter due to the rise in people choosing to pursue Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees. One needs to stick out in a room full of recent graduates or post-grads.

THE QUESTION OF DEGREE V/S SKILLS

A skill is something in which someone is proficient and excels based on experience. A skill focuses more on practical abilities than theoretical ones, in contrast to degrees. The most difficult work situations can be resolved with practical skills. Creation is more important than recall in the current world.

For instance, not all great entrepreneurs hold academic degrees. They achieved success by becoming experts in their areas of strength and acquiring specialised knowledge. The days of hiring applicants based solely on their academic credentials are long gone. Skill hiring has gained enormous momentum in recent years.

Likewise, for applicants to be effective right away, forward-thinking recruiters look for candidates who have the necessary skills for the position.

It’s interesting to note that the future of work will emphasise a variety of job abilities rather than just hard skills. Employers search for various skills, not just those that are task-oriented or technically proficient.

Businesses seek candidates with attention to detail, innovative problem-solving abilities, a collaborative mentality, and the capacity to handle ambiguity and complexity. These abilities can also be acquired frequently through training programmes.

Using a degree as a gauge of employability entails depending on talent rather than lifelong learners with constantly evolving skill sets. The further alienation of already vulnerable job seekers caused by our over-reliance on college degrees hurts us all. So a time will soon come when skills will definitely supersede graduate degrees as selection criteria.

Note: This article By Ramgopal Nanda VP – IT Staffing, Recruitment & RPO, Spectrum Talent Management, was originally published in India Today