New data shows the vast majority of new job openings don’t require a college degree.

Newly-minted college graduates haven’t exactly had it easy in recent years.

First, a global pandemic and government-mandated lockdowns popped a major dent in college students' campus experience from 2020 through 2021. Then, with sheepskin finally in hand, graduates shifted into a post-COVID economy where prices were high, professional opportunities were low, and $100,000 college loan debt stacks weren’t uncommon.

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Now, college graduates are increasingly being shoved aside for new job opportunities by skilled workers with no degrees and few problems landing job offers from quality companies.

Data from LinkedIn showed that in 2021 and 2022, 90% of UK-based job postings on the social media platform “didn’t require” a college degree. Additionally, about 75% of professional recruiters studied by LinkedIn believe skills-first hiring “will become a priority for their companies within 18 months.”

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One issue favoring non-college grads over actual college grads is the rise of the apprenticeship, decades after skills-based worker training programs, like becoming a plumber, or electrician, were last in vogue.

Iconic, brand-name firms like PwC, Google, IBM, And Apple are hitching their wagons to the skills-based career professional trend, LinkedIn reported, with related data showing “recruiters are five times more likely to search for candidates by skills over degrees.”

Parents seemed to agree, with a new Amazon UK-based study showing 86% of parents “believe an apprenticeship would provide their child with a good chance of getting a permanent job, compared with 67% for university.”

The study, done in association with YouGov, also noted 82% of parents surveyed believed apprenticeships “provided good earnings potential” for their kids.

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