Companies have been making headlines by removing four-year degree requirements from job postings, embracing the concept of “skills-based hiring” with enthusiasm. Walmart, General Motors, and Delta Air Lines are among the major players leading this trend. However, a recent report from Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Project and the Burning Glass Institute suggests that while some progress has been made, the overall shift toward hiring non-degreed workers has been slow.

The report analysed over 316 million online job postings since 2012, focusing on specific job categories and companies where degree requirements were removed. It found that while there was a nearly fourfold increase in the number of jobs without degree mandates since 2014, the actual hiring of non-degreed workers remained modest. On average, firms increased the share of workers without a bachelor’s degree by only about 3.5 percentage points for roles where degree requirements were removed.

Despite the buzz around skills-based hiring, the report indicates that sincere intentions haven’t necessarily translated into substantial hiring of non-degreed workers. Many companies struggle to implement the policy changes effectively, with hiring managers often defaulting to more credentialed candidates. Only about a third of companies analysed showed significant progress in hiring non-degreed workers, while nearly half made little to no strides in this direction.

While some companies like Walmart and Yelp are recognized as leaders in skills-based hiring, others, including Oracle and Lockheed Martin, have shown limited progress. The report suggests that systemic challenges, such as ingrained hiring practices and lack of diversity in applicant pools, hinder the transition to skills-based hiring.