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Episode 154 - Are university degrees becoming less important in white-collar hiring?
0 Playsin 6 hours
News this week:
- Australia’s hiring market remains active with rising recruitment and easing difficulty, but declining job ads and softer forward confidence signal growing caution.
- The Coalition is proposing tougher migration and visa rules, reflecting shifting political pressure and a harder stance on population growth.
- A global report links hundreds of major companies to alleged migrant worker abuse, highlighting urgent calls for supply chain transparency and accountability.
- Global hiring intentions have surged to a four-year high, led by strong momentum across Asia-Pacific, including solid demand in Australia.
- SEEK data shows Australian job ads continue to fall amid broad caution, while New Zealand’s market rebounds sharply and AI is not yet a major drag on hiring
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Transcript
Recruitment Time Management
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Recruitment News Australia. Quick question, Ross, how much of a recruiter's day is actually spent recruiting? Not enough, Adele. There's sourcing, admin, compliance, LinkedIn searches, and probably about 47 tabs open all at once. And that's where wingman recruitment comes in.
00:00:25
Speaker
Exactly. The remote professionals handle the sourcing, admin, and compliance so your team can get back to what they're really good at, speaking to candidates and making placements. Less spreadsheet, more placement.
00:00:37
Speaker
Visit wingmangroup.com.au and check out the services tab to
Recruitment Activity Trends
00:00:41
Speaker
learn more. This is the news for the 31st of March, 2026. Adele Last. And I'm Ross Clennett.
00:00:48
Speaker
Adele, another labour market update to discuss. This is the JSA, Jobs and Skills Australia Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey. on one hand, more employers are recruiting in February, but on the other, confidence about future hiring has softened a bit.
00:01:05
Speaker
Yes, it shows that in February 2026, 51% of employers were recruiting, which is up four percentage points from December. That also means recruitment activity is slightly stronger than a year ago, two percentage points compared to the same time in 2025. What's also notable is the continued difference between hiring in Metro Australia and Regional Australia. In capital cities, 48% of employers reported they were recruiting, but much more in rest of state areas, 56%.
00:01:36
Speaker
So regional employers still more active in the market, which has been the case for the last three to four years.
Future Hiring Confidence and Geopolitical Influences
00:01:42
Speaker
The other interesting point is that recruitment seems to be getting a little easier. The recruitment difficulty rate fell seven percentage points since December, down to 43% of recruiting employers.
00:01:54
Speaker
The proportion of employers who couldn't fill a vacancy within a month was still 42% February. which is actually six points higher than a year ago. Then there's the forward-looking piece. Proportion of employers expecting to increase staff numbers in the next three months slipped three points to 21% in February. This suggests some caution is creeping back in, and even though that figure is still just slightly above where it was this time last year at 19%.
00:02:19
Speaker
Yeah, and that's where the caution lines up with another trend we've been watching. Australia has now recorded its third straight monthly decline in job ad volumes. Which suggests the market's still generally positive with some signs of caution. Also, I note that JSA release explicitly states the data was collected before the war began in the Middle East, so employer sentiment could have changed dramatically since then. That's what will make next month's update fascinating. Will the general positive sentiment remain unaffected by the higher petrol prices and ongoing conflict in the Middle East?
00:02:51
Speaker
Or will hiring momentum in Australia come to a standstill?
Immigration Policy Changes
00:02:54
Speaker
Adele, did you see the news about the Federal Coalition's plans for visa holders and overseas students in Australia? Sounds like a pretty big shake-up to the Migration Act if they are returned to government.
00:03:06
Speaker
I did see this, Ross. There was a report in last Monday's Financial Review speculating about a crackdown on visa holders who change jobs or move cities after arriving, and even scrutinising students who switch courses.
00:03:20
Speaker
For those who may not be aware, some visas are not valid across the whole country. They may be granted only for specific regional locations, courses or occupations. Exactly. The article mentioned that the Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson is pushing for the coalition to adopt an immigration policy based on a three-tier assessment.
00:03:40
Speaker
Wait for it, Adele. Does Australia need you? Do you share Australian values? And where can we fit you in? Share our values? That's interesting. I also read there's a push for stricter English language tests for international students. I am shaking my head, Ross. Yes, and the coalition is looking to implement tougher migrant values tests as part of their changes to immigration policy.
00:04:08
Speaker
The recent South Australian election shows why the coalition might be considering these changes. The significant jump in one nation's popularity has clearly shaken the coalition, Adele.
00:04:20
Speaker
Well, the Liberal Party had a disastrous result, I know, down to four lower house seats. But what has that got to do with migration policy, Ross? Yes, there was a nearly 17% swing against the Liberals, Adele, almost entirely benefiting One Nation.
00:04:37
Speaker
It has changed the political landscape in Australia and there's probably a mirror of what might be going on in other parts of regional Australia as well.
Migrant Worker Abuse Allegations
00:04:48
Speaker
Clearly, the issue of Australia being too big or growing too quickly is one that One Nation have capitalised on, and the Liberal Party and the National Party are concerned that they're going to be outflanked to the right by One Nation, and these changes or proposed changes, they're there ah policy response to that. So overall, I think the coalition has sniffed the political winds of change and they think this tougher approach to population growth and immigration policy is a vote winner.
00:05:26
Speaker
Ross, a pretty confronting report out recently. The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre says nearly 600 companies were linked to alleged abuse of migrant workers in 2025.
00:05:38
Speaker
I did see that, Adele. Their migrant worker allegations database found 584 companies tied to 747 cases of alleged abuse worldwide.
00:05:50
Speaker
Interestingly, or damningly, companies headquartered in the United States were linked to cases 267 times, almost four times more than the next country, the UK.
00:06:01
Speaker
And it's not just obscure firms either. The report says brands like Meta, Adidas, Levi Strauss and Louis Vuitton were among those most frequently connected to alleged cases.
00:06:13
Speaker
I saw that. Yeah, Meta topped the list with 12 cases, while several fashion giants had seven each. Key point here is these allegations often sit deep in supply chains involving typically contractors and labour hire firms.
00:06:28
Speaker
The workers affected in the US are mostly migrants from the African subcontinent, often in lower paid and higher risk roles. And they're the ones that are reporting the common issues, typically breaches of employment standards, workplace safety violations.
00:06:43
Speaker
The report warns there's a growing accountability problem unless companies become far more transparent about who's in their supply chains. In other words, if big brands can't see the workers in their supply chains, they can't really claim to protect them.
00:06:58
Speaker
And increasingly, regulators, investors and consumers want visibility and demand genuine accountability.
Global Hiring Intentions
00:07:05
Speaker
There's some surprisingly upbeat news on the global hiring front. Adele, employer hiring intentions for the second quarter of this year have hit their highest level in nearly four years.
00:07:17
Speaker
Yes, that's Manpower's global net employment outlook has come in at 31%, which is up six points on the previous quarter and seven points higher than a year ago. That makes it the strongest global reading since the third quarter of 2022. And just to explain, the net employment outlook measures the difference between employers planning to hire and those expecting to reduce staff.
00:07:40
Speaker
What that tells us is that hiring confidence is clearly improving. In fact, 45% of organisations say they plan to increase headcount, while 40% expect no change and 2% are unsure. It suggests economic uncertainty may be easing.
00:07:56
Speaker
Standout region being the Asia-Pacific region, leading the world with a hiring outlook of 39%. And within that region, India is the real powerhouse, posting an extraordinary 68%. And that's followed by Vietnam at 47%, while Australia comes in at 33%, which is still a pretty healthy result.
00:08:16
Speaker
One note of caution here, Adele, is timing. This survey was conducted between the 1st of January and the 3rd of February. So it was taken before the latest geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. But based on the survey itself, the message is clear. Global hiring intentions are strengthening and Asia Pacific, including Australia, is leading that momentum.
Regional Hiring Variations
00:08:38
Speaker
And on to SEEK's latest employment report. It shows us that Australia's hiring market is still softening. Job ads down 0.5% in February month on month and 2.6% down over the year, reflecting what Chief Economist at SEEK, Dr Blair Chapman, calls broad caution.
00:08:58
Speaker
rather than any major AI-driven disruption. WA was the standout, the only market to record both monthly and annual growth, while construction and manufacturing-related jobs remained resilient, even as sectors like media, consulting and ICT pulled back. Across the Tasman, though, mood was far brighter, with New Zealand job ads rising 0.9% month-on-month, and surging 12.2% year-on-year, a sharp rebound after the weakness seen across most of 2025 in New Zealand. That's your news up to date for the 31st of March 2026. Stay tuned now for Question of the Week.
Relevance of Degrees in Hiring
00:09:41
Speaker
Question of the Week. Are university degrees becoming less important in white-collar hiring? I'm asking this question, Ross, because I saw a comment on LinkedIn that you made on a post by Hung Lee, which was generally about AI's impact to skills acquisition. Yes, and it's certainly a topic I've been going down the rabbit hole recently in terms of my presentation about AI and the impact of jobs and careers. Hung Lee's ah piece on LinkedIn is absolutely worthwhile reading. However, the thing that particularly jumped out at me that's prompted this conversation is his note that the UK tertiary education system produces around half a million graduates every year. And in February, just past, there were only 10,000 jobs advertised for graduates. Now, that's just one month.
00:10:40
Speaker
graduates are on the market June, July, August, but it's a pretty small number of graduate vacancies. And I'm sure for many graduates in the UK, they're wondering, was it all worth it? Did I incur all of this investment of time and money for something that's not going to give me an advantage in the job market? And I think this is why the topic is so interesting and the conversation around this is really important because AI has already shown to have a significant impact on the way people are working, the way people are learning and the information that they may need to know. You know, what what they need to know today may be very different even in six months or a year's time. So you're right, I think the relevancy of a degree
00:11:32
Speaker
particularly over three or four years, comes into question. How can what is being designed in a course today still be relevant in, as I said, six months' time with the way things are moving so fast?
Shift to Skills-Based Hiring
00:11:43
Speaker
And we've seen that in the US. I mean, the big employers in the US have been very explicit about this in terms of removing the requirement for a degree for many, many jobs. So whether it's GE or Meta or Google, even the federal government, the requirement for a degree is seen in many, many fewer jobs now. And particularly the tech companies are encouraging of short courses, micro courses. They're interested in what knowledge people have and how they can apply that knowledge to skill rather than what institution people went to and what degree they obtained and how long that degree took. And this is a huge shift when we think about it because this is a system, The university structure, the type of study that's done, the length of time, the kinds of institutions, the way that universities are teaching students is a whole system in itself that we know is obviously very, very old.
00:12:50
Speaker
If we're seeing this change in such a short period of time, that's a really fascinating movement, I suppose, within for that industry. Oh, without doubt. I think the tertiary sector is, i won't say in crisis, that's not the right expression, but the fundamental business model of a university is we attract students and we charge a fee because by and large, all the students are taking a course to acquire a degree, which they believe will give them a premium in the job
Value of University Degrees Today
00:13:23
Speaker
market. As long as that premium has continued to be delivered when the graduate does enter the job market, then happy days. Universities are doing okay.
00:13:33
Speaker
But what we're seeing now is the era where that degree is less likely to guarantee a premium in the job market. And if you're someone who's invested three years in a degree and you find that it's not giving you an advantage against people who are younger than you and haven't got a degree, then surely you're going to question the wisdom of investing all of that time and money acquiring that degree. It ties into another article from Human Resources Director Magazine, which has a quote from a woman called Anna Volker, who is the head of people and culture at High Bobb. And she talks about this era you've just referenced saying, relying on university degrees as the main gateway into white collar careers is rapidly fading as employers sharpen their focus on demonstratable skills, micro-credentials, and time to value in the job.
00:14:24
Speaker
I think that's absolutely right for many occupations, not all. Because I think about my own experience, I chose to to enrol in a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Tasmania, which I ultimately finished.
00:14:38
Speaker
because I believed, because there was lots of evidence around me, that it would give me a premium in the job market, that there was lots of stories from people who graduated about all these big employers that come onto campus and are desperate to offer you jobs. And so for me, that was the reason I did it. Now, of course, What's kind of hilarious about that is that in my final year, and I went to all those interviews for graduates, I didn't get offered at a single job. And that's when I went traveling and finished up walking into a recruitment agency and getting offered a job as a recruiter, which, of course, you don't need a degree for. So at some level, did I waste my four or five years gaining a degree? Because it didn't get me an entry point into one of those big
00:15:24
Speaker
sexy corporate employers and, you know I had to sort of slum it in the recruitment industry instead. And I think that's key to it. It's about the pathway. It was seen as a very clear and steady and reliable pathway into employment and into good employment and progression very quickly if you had that piece of paper, if you had that scroll under your sleeve and off you went. And I think that's the part that's changed now. People are seeing that you may have – equally advanced skills, in some cases better skills without the piece of paper. You may have learnt more from different sources. You may have gone down a crooked path and ended up in the same location and, you know, been as successful and that's what people are questioning around university degree value.
00:16:13
Speaker
and why employees are starting to break that down. Completely. And and let's be clear, there's a clear demarcation. Or if you're smart enough to get offered a place in medicine at the University of Melbourne, clearly that's going to continue to be very valuable because there's a restriction on supply of people entering the world as a doctor, in the same way that there's a restriction on supply in entering the world as an accountant or a lawyer, because there are professional associations for which you need to be a member and to pass exams to be certified to undertake those sorts of professions. So universities, particularly the, let's call them the prestigious ah universities, there's no problem for them ongoingly at all. No problem for the graduates that
00:16:59
Speaker
undertake those courses. But for me, it's in those other areas. It's in a, let's say, a communications degree, maybe even HR. Is there going to be ongoing value? You don't need to be a communications professional or an HR professional with a university degree in tow. You can be hired and very competent at those jobs and legally operate in those jobs at a very senior level without a degree. And I think it's in those areas that universities offering those courses are probably facing some long-term
Apprenticeship Models in White-Collar Jobs
00:17:34
Speaker
threat. But this is just the dismantling of a system. As you said, I agree that nobody wants a doctor that doesn't have a qualification. Nobody wants an engineer to build their building if they're not properly trained to do that. But I think employers are starting to be much more flexible around, as I said, that direct pathway or the way it's working. I was listening to another podcast yesterday by fellow podcasters in our industry called Tarpod. And they were interviewing a guest who had a program looking at helping university students and their pathway. And she was talking about programs where companies are now ah providing work experience alongside full university degrees. So a bit like the old apprenticeship model, but now at a white collar level. you know Somebody goes to university two or three days a week, they work in the law firm two or three days a week. They come out at the end of the four years ah with a degree and with four years work experience. and
00:18:31
Speaker
And that, and I can't remember which of the big accounting firms, maybe it was PricewaterhouseCoopers, they only recently, and I say that maybe three or four years ago, dropped the requirement to have a university degree to be employed as an accountant. They are now taking on that type of trainee, more the apprenticeship training,
00:18:53
Speaker
type of model, I suspect that's going to become more common. So let me ask you this question then, Ross. When recruiters are taking a job brief, we bring these home to the recruitment space and the client says the person needs to have a communications degree, they need to have a Bachelor of Business, they need to have this minimum requirement. How do you recommend recruiters
Challenging Degree Requirements
00:19:13
Speaker
handle this? It'll be different because if it's a general manager of finance or CFO,
00:19:19
Speaker
then absolutely that person will need to have a qualification, a CPA or CA qualification. Now, it's going to be different in a job where there's not that legal requirement. i don't Let's just pick a very easy example. Let's say it's a call centre role and the hiring manager insisting on the degree. Then the question I'd be asking is, okay, so who what do you expect that a degree holder brings to this job that someone who doesn't have a degree does not bring? Because that's really the crux of the matter. What's the difference in knowledge? What's the difference in skill?
00:19:58
Speaker
Or more importantly, what's the perception of the hiring manager in terms of what someone with the degree will have in terms of knowledge and skill? Because Remember, a degree simply certifies that someone has passed exams so at a sufficient level to be awarded that degree.
00:20:16
Speaker
Does that guarantee that that person's going to perform on the job better than someone who doesn't have a degree? Well, in some occupations, probably, almost certainly, yes. But in others, like call centre, I'd say probably not.
00:20:30
Speaker
Or are there other ways to assess that? Well, that's right, yes if you're talking about certain levels of intelligence or communication or problem-solving skills. If we're talking about skills assessment, and this is where we come back to the crux of it, is the university degree in its current form, three, four years commitment, you know, that long-term study one thing come out with a degree starting to become less important and this micro-learning, micro-credentialing element becoming, skill development becoming more important.
00:20:58
Speaker
Well, the easy answer is as universities lose their luster as a signalling device for hiring managers to screen degree holders in and non-degree holders out, then that's absolutely going to change. And with recruitment tech at a point where whoever applies can undertake further screening. And if that screening reveals that person to have the appropriate skills, knowledge and motivation, then they're going to get into the queue for an interview. Whether that person has a degree or not will be irrelevant. And that's very different to the era of there were so many applications that a degree was simply used as a signaler or a dividing point
00:21:40
Speaker
For those that would be given more consideration versus those people would simply be sent a thanks but no thanks letter. I think that is the crux of the conversation in the way that it's been used to date, looking at a university degree as as a leveler divider, as you said.
00:21:55
Speaker
And so that's become less important and been removed. And maybe we are doing better at assessing whether it's needed, whether it's relevant or has the person learnt on the job skills that can be applied immediately. Well, I'd be absolutely fascinated to hear from any listeners their own experience in taking jobs from clients and what they're noticing in terms of clients who used to request degrees that now say will accept evidence of learning or microcourses because I suspect there's going to be a very big difference between beginning of the 2020s and by the time we get to 2030. We might have to do a poll on this one, Ross.