Skills-First Policy and Skills-Based Hiring?

New terminology is entering the labour market as both governments and employers look for different ways of diversifying and acquiring productive skills.

Most people would subscribe to the view that job hiring decisions should be based on what a person knows, rather than who they know or the type of school they attended.

It’s the idea that career competency, also known as skills, should take precedence over formal credentials or connections when it comes to recruiting from a diverse talent pool.

In practice, however, we know that this is not how the commodity labour market works. Unlike the path to fame and fortune that characterises the ruthless meritocracy associated with elite sports, the routine labour market is much more opaque.

I use the example of elite sports because to play for a nation or enter the Olympics, athletes must pit their skills and natural talents against other challengers who seek to outperform them with a similar set of observable gifts.

Of course, all this takes place within a transparent set of rules, often in the full glare of the public who pay good money to see their sp…