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The ROI of Skills-Focused Systems: What Government Leaders and Employers Need to Know
- B.Odom
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Employers are under pressure to fill roles with qualified candidates, while government leaders are racing to build sustainable talent pipelines that drive regional economic growth. But despite investments in education and job boards, the same questions remain:
Why are jobs still going unfilled?
Why are learners and workers still invisible to employers?
And why does “qualified” default to “has a degree”?
The answer: the system isn’t built for today’s workforce. With the advancement of technology, it’s time to reconstruct how we define, discover and deploy talent. The shift to skills-focused systems is already proving its return on investment not just for individual companies but for entire economies. Opting for a skills-focused system doesn’t mean that skills are valued over degrees, but it does mean that employers are making space to provide opportunities to individuals who are capable of filling roles where they are coachable and able to grow and thrive in.
What is a Skills-Focused System?
A skills-focused system recognizes and rewards people for what they can do and not just where they went to school or what title they held. It’s powered by tools like:
Learning & Employment Records (LERs) that capture verified skills and experiences
Skills-Based Job Descriptions that reflect real capabilities instead of outdated credentials
Talent Matching Engines that align individuals to jobs, training, and advancement opportunities in real time
Although many hiring practices still rely on degree requirements and work experiences being seen as proxies for a candidate’s skills and abilities, that assumption is becoming problematic for the skills-focused hiring movement. Those assumptions often exclude capable candidates and fail to accurately measure the skills needed for more modern roles.
In truth, skills-focused hiring focuses on directly assessing a candidate’s abilities rather than assuming skills based on a credential, degree or experience alone. This approach can involve practical tests, certifications, or project-based evaluations for verify skillsets. Research noted by BCG shows that skills-focused hiring is a strong predictor of job performance than education alone and backs up the understanding that a skills-focused hire is five times more likely to succeed in a role compared to a degree-based hire.
For skills-focused hiring practices to become the new norm, employers must challenge themselves and their hiring teams to recognize when a degree is not truly required, and advocate for deeper understanding and assessment of actual skills.
Real ROI: How Walmart is Leading the Way
Walmart, the largest private employer in in the U.S., shifted to a skills-focused hiring and upskilling strategy to improve retention and advancement. Here’s how it’s going:
75% of salaried store managers started as hourly associates
They launched Live Better U, providing debt-free education tied to in-demand roles
They now emphasize skills in internal mobility pathways
These practices have resulted in lower turnover, stronger employee engagement, and a broader talent pipeline for workers who might otherwise be overlooked by degree-based filters built into AI-powered applicant tracking systems.
Why it Matters for States and Employers
For state agencies and employers, the ROI of a skills-focused system supports:
Reduced time to fill open roles
Improved equity and access for underserved populations
Higher job placement and retention rates
Smarter allocation of workforce funding
Data-driven insights to inform policy and program design and development
These outcomes directly support regional growth, employer competitiveness, an long-term economic development.
How EBSCOed Helps You Make It Real
EBSCOed brings together a powerful suite of tools to help employers and government agencies operationalize a skills-focused approach.
A free platform for individuals to create portable Learning & Employment Records (LERs) that reflect verified skills, credentials, and experiences from traditional and non-traditional sources like military service or work-based learning.
A robust ecosystem that connects jobseekers, training providers, and employers around a shared language of skills. Employers can post skills-based job descriptions, while agencies gain insight into workforce alignment and gaps.
Empowers hiring managers to create clear job descriptions that focus on what matters, which is the skills required to do the job, rather than legacy requirements that screen out capable candidates.
Ready to See ROI in Your Region? Here’s How to Start:
Audit Your Job Descriptions
Evaluate current postings for degree bias and misalignment with actual job functions.
Invite Jobseekers to Build LERs
Direct talent to LER.me to start building and sharing their verified credentials.
Partner with EBSCOed to Launch a Skills Ecosystem
State workforce boards or regional employers can lean on EBSCOed for support with building a Talent Triad-style model tailored to your needs and creating alignment between training and employment.
A Skills-Focused Workforce is Already Here
Employers want talent that’s ready to work. Governments want systems that produce results. EBSCOed delivers both through a future-forward, skills-focused infrastructure that unlocks hidden talent, reduces hiring friction, and drives economic mobility.
Let’s build it together.
Visit www.ebscoed.com to schedule a conversation and get started.
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