In the current job market, the skills-focused hiring strategy is seen across hierarchy levels – from junior executives to senior management. An increasing number of Indian and global organisations are looking to hire talent based on specific skills as opposed to direct job experience.
Currently, about 50% of recruiters in India are using skills-first approach to search for candidates, compared to about 40% of recruiters in the US. LinkedIn’s data show when hiring for skills instead of direct job experience, the overall talent pool increases by 12x in India – above the global average of 9.4x.
This helps companies get access a larger talent pool and creates more opportunities for job seekers, especially in times of economic uncertainty. A recent Skills Evolution Report from LinkedIn also shows that skills requirements for jobs are changing fast. In India skill sets for jobs have changed by around 29% since 2015 and are expected to change by 48% by 2025. Globally, skill sets for jobs have changed by around 25% since 2015 and are expected to change by 41% by 2025.
Data shows that the skills-first hiring is more pronounced in certain industries, whereas others that require hard technical skills may be slow adopters of this approach.
In India, industries with the highest increase in skills-first talent pool are administrative & support services (43.8x); education (42.9x); wholesale (41.4x); financial services (41.3x) and government administration (35.8x).
The industries with the lowest increase in the skills-first talent pool are oil, gas & mining (9.7x); transportation, logistics, supply chain & storage (10.3x); hospitals and healthcare (11.5x).
There is also an increasing emphasis on soft skills including adaptability, team play, and collaboration, and it is even more pronounced when in times of uncertainty.
