Non-Degree Credentials in Hiring: Credential Fluency Report

How Employers Use Non-Degree Credentials to Compete for Talent 

In a labor market shaped by tightening labor supply, accelerating skill change, and AI-driven shifts in job requirements, employers are reassessing how they evaluate capability. Technical skills increasingly depreciate in months rather than years, elevating the importance of current, validated signals of job readiness.

Our latest research report, Credential Fluency: The Hiring Advantage in the Race for Skills, produced in partnership with the Burning Glass Institute, examines how employers are using non-degree credentials in hiring and the advantages employers who apply them effectively have over those who do not.

Based on an analysis of hiring patterns across more than 1,000 large U.S. employers, the research finds that as worker shortages persist and skills shift rapidly, a subset of employers is gaining a competitive edge through credential fluency—defined as the ability to identify and validate credentials beyond degrees as strong signals of job-relevant skills for hiring decisions.
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Why Non-Degree Credentials in Hiring Are Becoming a Strategic Talent Signal 

"While degrees provide information about prior education, employers are increasingly looking for ways to understand what candidates can do now."

Non-degree credentials, which include industry certifications, professional certificates, and rigorous training programs, provide evidence of specific skills tied to today’s tools and workflows.

At the same time, determining which credentials signal real value has become more complex. According to recent research from the nonprofit organization Credential Engine, there are more than 1.85 million distinct credentials available from over 134,000 providers in the U.S. Meanwhile, Burning Glass Institute’s analytics suggests that only 1 in 3 credentials are effective at moving workers ahead. This growing discrepancy makes it increasingly difficult for employers to evaluate which credentials reliably indicate job-relevant skills.

Credential quality matters. The research shows that non-degree credentials support hiring decisions only when employers can distinguish those that function as credible signals of job-relevant capability. Credential value is not uniform, and the report provides evidence that helps illuminate how the relevance and impact of credentials vary by role, context, and use.

What Differentiates Credential-Fluent Employers

Employer approaches to credentials vary widely. Leading organizations consistently recognize credential quality and incorporate it into hiring decisions, while many others either overlook credentials altogether or signal interest without meaningfully changing outcomes.

This variation shows up even among firms hiring for similar roles within the same industry, indicating that differences are driven less by sector and more by employer strategy and system design.

What differentiates credential-fluent employers is clarity. Not all credentials function as equally strong signals, and selectivity matters. Employers that are able to identify which credentials align to needed skills and interpret them consistently, are better able to recognize job-relevant capability that might otherwise be missed.

What This Research Reveals 

This report offers an evidence-based look at how companies at different stages are approaching credentials as signals of job-relevant skills in hiring - and what the leaders are doing differently.

It examines:

• Which credential strategies actually expand talent pools
• Patterns in how firms operationalize credential recognition in ways that drive hiring outcomes
• Where credentials create the most opportunity for workers without four-year degrees - and for which employers
• Practical steps any company can take to build credential fluency, starting today

Download the full report to explore the data, findings, and what they mean for HR and talent leaders.