Walmart has been a pioneer in the skills-first movement, both through internal talent practices and philanthropic investment. Elyse Rosenblum reflects on how the country’s largest employer is leading the way.
Across the country, the shift to skills-first talent management is taking hold across the public and private sectors. Nearly half of U.S. states and a growing number of Fortune 500 companies are taking steps to remove degrees from the hiring process — in ways that have the potential to both open up new talent pipelines for employers and create new pathways to opportunity for workers without four-year degrees.
The success of any movement depends on its first movers, and this movement is no exception. While research plays an important role in articulating the business case for skills-first talent management, the movement is still nascent, and the work of gathering meaningful data is time-intensive. At this early stage, organizations that make the leap to skills-first talent management can significantly influence the perspectives – and actions – of their peers.
That’s what makes Walmart’s commitment to the skills-first movement so important. As America’s largest employer, Walmart plays a profound role in setting trends and practices that often become standard across the entire U.S. labor market. Beyond its business practices, Walmart has made workforce development a priority through its philanthropic arm, Walmart.org. They’ve invested millions to uplift and support communities that too often face barriers to economic growth and financial sustainability, and have taken on impactful work promoting skills-first talent development with Grads of Life.
But it starts with the business. Walmart is walking the walk as an employer. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner joined The Home Depot’s Ted Decker to make the case for a skills-based approach to hiring and talent development. Both organizations recognize the role they play in encouraging other businesses to join the skills-first movement. As they put it, “We need more employers to join us in building a system where workers can easily transfer skills from one company or industry to another.”
This sentiment reflects a commitment that Walmart is already putting into practice. Late last year, the company announced that it would rewrite job descriptions to focus on skills alongside degrees, enabling “an either/or option for an applicant: to be considered for the job, you can have a related college degree or possess the skills needed for the job, whether through previous experience or other forms of learning.” This spring, they took it a step further when they more than doubled the number of short-form certificates available through their Walmart-paid education benefit, giving workers more alternative pathways to develop skills and advance their careers while helping their business fill 100,000 in-demand jobs. Those are just the latest efforts in an ongoing campaign to ensure Walmart is leading the field as a skills-first employer.
Additionally, Walmart is taking the lead as an engine of philanthropic impact across the skills-first movement. This month Grads of Life will deploy another $1 million in funding made possible by Walmart to help employers measure the business impact of skills-first talent practices, provide them with change management support and resources for hiring managers, and create a compelling narrative to encourage more companies to hire based on skills rather than college degree attainment.
Walmart takes a broad approach to supporting organizations across the skills-first movement. The company’s philanthropic arm also supports coalitions like the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)’s new Skills-First Center of Excellence and nonprofits like Opportunity@Work, whose “Tear the Paper Ceiling Campaign” has shed light on the challenges faced by the 70 million Americans who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) rather than a four-year degree. Walmart has also partnered with the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), which promotes proper measurement and recognition of skills and competencies in the workplace.
There’s no doubt that the broader shift to skills-first talent management has a long way to go. Employers of all sizes and types are just beginning to recognize the impact that hiring, promoting, and advancing their workforce based on skills can have on retention, economic mobility, and business growth.
But even at this early stage, it’s clear that Walmart has played a profound role as a catalyst for the movement, encouraging even the largest and most influential organizations to recognize the potential of a skills-first approach. Their support and energy around this work is laying the foundation for a labor market that can be stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient in the years to come.