7 in 10 professionals prioritise building up skills over degrees

They also believe upskilling has become more important than ever.

With more companies moving to skills-based hiring, Singaporean professionals have also shifted from a pedigree to a skills-based mindset.

Data from LinkedIn’s report showed that 73% of professionals in the Lion City are now prioritising building up their skills over degrees to chart their career paths.

More than half of professionals (62%) also believe that there is less importance now on degrees being a prerequisite for jobs as compared to 20 years ago.

In the future, Singaporeans (79%) also believe employers will value professionals with diverse skill sets and experiences over those who specialise in a certain job function.

Based on data from LinkedIn, more companies prefer to hire candidates with technical skills (39%) and transferable skills (31%), over education (8%) and minimum years of experience (12%) in Singapore.

With the companies’ shifting to skills-based hiring, eight in 10 professionals said learning new skills continuously has become more crucial.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn also found that the days when people held one job over many decades are now over, adding that non-linear career paths and career pivots will be the “new norm” in Singapore.

“As part of the shift towards defining their career success, professionals in Singapore are more open to taking career breaks and pursuing non-linear career paths. A majority (79%) feel that career paths 20 years ago were more straightforward, and the skill sets required were more obvious. This is changing, as 8 in 10 Singapore professionals agree that transferable skills have become more valued and acceptable among employers locally, as more pursue non-linear career paths,” LinkedIn stated.

To add, over three-quarters (77%) of local professionals are more open to career pivots compared to 20 years ago, with seven in 10 planning to pivot into a new career, or a role with a different job scope within the next two to three years.

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