The Skills-First Hiring Revolution: Why CVs Are Becoming Less Relevant in 2025

The UK hiring landscape is being reshaped by a skills-first revolution. Employers, grappling with critical skills gaps and a fast-evolving economy, are moving away from traditional CVs and degree requirements-focusing instead on what candidates can actually do. This shift is not just a trend; it’s a response to real business needs and a changing workforce.

A Real-World Example: Siemens’ Skills-First Success

Siemens, a global engineering leader, faced a hiring crisis for Project Engineers-some roles were unfilled for over 200 days. By switching to skills-based hiring, including practical assessments and removing degree barriers, Siemens increased applications by 542% and achieved a 50/50 gender split at the shortlist stage, far outpacing industry norms. This approach filled critical roles faster and diversified their talent pool.

Why Are UK Employers Shifting to Skills-First Hiring?

• Addressing Skills Gaps: The UK faces acute shortages in tech, healthcare, and renewable energy. Skills-based hiring lets employers target the exact abilities needed, rather than relying on proxies like degrees or previous job titles.
• Broadening the Talent Pool: Removing degree requirements can increase the talent pool up to tenfold, opening opportunities to career changers, self-taught professionals, and those from non-traditional backgrounds.
• Improving Diversity and Performance: Skills-first hiring leads to more diverse shortlists and is up to five times more predictive of job performance than education-based hiring.
• Faster, Fairer Hiring: Practical assessments, simulations, and targeted tests enable evidence-based decisions and reduce time-to-hire. Companies like Revolut improved their time-to-hire by 40% with this approach.

How Skills-First Hiring Works in Practice

• Skills Assessments: Candidates complete real-world tasks, coding challenges, or simulations relevant to the job.
• Soft and Hard Skills: Employers evaluate both technical expertise and essential soft skills like adaptability and problem-solving.
• Portfolio Reviews and Role-Based Tasks: Instead of relying on CVs, candidates showcase their abilities through portfolios or by tackling job-relevant scenarios.

A logistics firm recently hired a self-taught coder over a computer science graduate-after both completed a two-hour live simulation. The self-taught candidate performed 34% faster, proving that practical ability can outshine formal credentials.

What This Means for Jobseekers and Employers

• For Jobseekers: Portfolios, practical tests, and demonstrations of skill are becoming the primary way to stand out. Continuous learning and adaptability are now essential for career progression.
• For Employers: Skills-first hiring expands access to hidden talent, reduces attrition by up to 40%, and helps fill roles faster and more accurately. It also supports diversity and inclusion goals, especially in sectors where women and minorities are underrepresented.

The Bottom Line: CVs Are Taking a Backseat

With more than half of UK employers struggling to find the right talent, skills-first hiring is fast becoming the new standard. CVs and degrees are no longer the main gateway to opportunity; demonstrable skills and potential are what matter most in 2025.