How important is a diploma?

Dilemma

In the tight labor market, companies are struggling in different sectors with Long -term vacancies. At the same time, many companies in vacancies ask for diplomas, for example at HBO or WO level, so that they exclude a large group that may have the right skills. Should employers put aside the diploma requirement and look more at work experience or should they wait for the suitable diploma holder to pass by?

Don’t wait for the sheep with the five legs

In the current labor market situation, many employers no longer have the luxury of making strict requirements, says Eva Knies, professor of strategic Human Resource Management at Utrecht University. « There is a struggle for good and sufficient employees. » And that brings changes, Knies explains. « Research in the United States shows that since the Coronacrisis, diploma requirements have been looked at differently: employers put diplomas less central and look more at knowledge, skills and potential. What do you see in people, how could someone still develop? »

Whether that cover is also taking place in the Netherlands, Knies has not yet seen research in research, but the dilemma also plays here: on the one hand there is a shortage on the labor market, on the other hand people without the required diplomas are often on the sidelines because they are excluded in application procedures.

As CEO Van Linden-IT, a secondment company with around 250 permanent employees that they use for various IT projects, Gerbert Jan Valk sees this dilemma daily in practice. « I see that people with an MBO education are often excluded in vacancies. They would often fit well, but fall off because of the hard diploma requirement. » That is a shame, says Valk, because the result is that companies are waiting for months for a candidate who does meet all requirements, which increases the workload and the company goes wrong.

« We therefore always advise employers to look more broadly, » says Valk. « There are plenty of people who can do the work, just don’t feel like waiting for the sheep with the five legs. In conversations with employers, we try to explain that hiring an MBO person may take more time in the short term, because you should guide someone a little extra, but will have time in the long term. »

Knies also advises employers not to stare blindly on a piece of paper during application procedures, and also to look at the design of the position. « Getting away from the expectation that someone must meet all the requirements of a function offers opportunities. Instead, we should see what someone entails and which parts of the position do and what does not fit well. In this way you can involve and retain people with a distance to the labor market. »

There is no discussion about some diplomas

In practice, the quality of a well-encouraged employee with an MBO education is not inferior to that of an employee with an HBO or WO education, says Valk. And not everyone needs extra guidance either.

Moreover, MBO students often stay connected to a company for longer, Valk sees in the IT sector. According to him, this is because this group generally wants to learn and has even more development opportunities. « MBO students are less bored », according to Valk. « There is enormous scarcity and the future of IT really does not depend on diplomas, a combination of inquisitiveness and practical knowledge is much more important. It only requires a piece of guts from employers. »

Opening positions within the company for a broader palette of candidates and offering these employees training and development opportunities, according to Knies, has the additional advantage that the image of the company improves. « And a good name as an employer helps to attract new people. »

Incidentally, a comment must be made, says Knies. Although this broader view of many sectors applies – according to Valk, for example, the technology is pre -eminently « a profession that you can learn in practice » – diplomas for some professions are a requirement that cannot be discussed about. « We want a graduate doctor at our bed and a qualified teacher for the class, » says Knies.

« But also in those sectors you can of course see how you can help someone get a diploma, as happens with side entrants in education. »

So

In the current labor market, companies cannot help but look their demands and look more flexibly at the way in which they have set up their positions and the candidates they consider. Although a candidate who does not meet all the pre -set conditions in the short term can take more time, it often provides a high -quality power in the long term that is loyal to the company and remains for longer. This applies to many sectors, although the diploma requirements for some professions (such as doctor) cannot be ignored.

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