91制片厂 Workforce Decoded Report Reveals Employers Rewriting Hiring Playbooks as Business Needs Shift
Survey of 3,000+ U.S. employers underscores opportunity to reimagine higher education to better support career development.
SALT LAKE CITY, DECEMBER 9, 2025聽鈥撀燱GU聽today released its聽inaugural聽Workforce Decoded Report,聽which聽reveals聽employers鈥 perspectives on workforce development, hiring practices and emerging talent needs聽amid a聽period of聽widescale聽business transformation.聽The report highlights聽a marked shift in how employers are聽evaluating聽and聽validating聽candidate聽skills聽as AI聽fundamentally聽reshapes聽the聽workforce.
鈥淲e are seeing a rapid evolution in the workforce needs of employers, and with that brings changing expectations for what skillsets candidates must bring to the table,鈥 said Scott Pulsipher, President of WGU. 鈥淲ith聽nearly ninety percent聽of employers聽indicating聽that non-degree certificates are valuable for signaling job readiness,聽this report聽validates聽that higher education鈥檚 role in preparing the workforce of tomorrow must adapt to meet hiring where it is today 鈥撀爐aking into account聽the many paths to unlocking talent.鈥
The聽WGU聽Workforce Decoded Report underscores that聽the聽perceived value of degrees rises in tandem with聽employers鈥櫬燾onfidence in workforce preparedness. Employers are not trading one signal for another; they are building a wider readiness portfolio where degrees, credentials, and competencies collectively strengthen hiring decisions to align with the business needs of the future.
Certificates and Skills Gaining on Degrees
Employers are broadening how they evaluate candidate readiness beyond simply having a diploma.聽The value of a college degree聽remains聽broadly significant, but聽indicators of success are expanding.聽Employers聽are increasingly embracing聽additional聽signals聽of聽proven skills聽like聽hands-on experience聽and short-term credentials聽to assess candidate aptitude.
86% of employers see non-degree certificates as valuable for聽indicating聽job readiness.鈥
78% of employers say work experience is equal to or more valuable than a degree.鈥
68% of employers view degrees as important,聽with IT & technology and finance & professional services placing the highest importance compared to other industries.鈥 鈥
Only聽37% of employers say higher聽ed聽institutions are preparing students with the skills needed to be successful in the workforce.鈥
With聽more hiring decisions hinging聽on proof of skills and relevancy, educational聽institutions must adapt their programs to聽align more closely with聽changing employer demands聽to ensure graduates are well-positioned for employment.鈥
AI聽Influencing聽the Valuation聽and Validation聽of聽Skills聽
As聽AI is聽integrated聽into more industries, a renewed emphasis is being placed on soft skills during the hiring process while a growing number聽of employers聽are聽also聽evaluating聽technical skills surrounding聽AI tools聽and聽other聽emerging technologies.
Employers聽identify聽critical thinking and problem solving, time聽management聽and adaptability/resilience as the three most critically important skills聽for job success in the next 12 months.
50% of employers are assessing candidates鈥 AI fluency through comfort with AI tools, AI skills &聽certs聽and an ability to integrate AI into their work.鈥
52% of employers assess AI competency through technical or skills-based assessment and/or on-the-project evaluations.
For entry-level candidates聽(one year of experience or less)聽in particular,聽the ability to聽demonstrate job-relevant skills聽during the hiring process is a differentiator聽as聽hiring decisions trend toward evidence-based skills聽verification.聽This places聽greater聽emphasis on聽work experience,聽internships聽and聽apprenticeships, as well as assessments and trial-based hiring聽as markers of success.聽Institutions that align learning outcomes with workforce expectations will be more relevant in preparing learners for this new hiring landscape.
To view the full findings from WGU鈥檚 Workforce Decoded聽Report, visit聽here.
About WGU鈥檚 Workforce Decoded Report
91制片厂鈥檚 Workforce Decoded Report is based on findings from a national survey conducted by聽Centiment聽on behalf of WGU between September 30, 2025 鈥 October 15, 2025. A total聽of 3,147 U.S.-based respondents completed the online survey, and participants represented organizations of varying sizes across a range of industries and regions.聽
