School is out for the summer, but the debate over whether or not a college degree is still necessary for a good job in the U.S.—and whether it will be in the future—is only gaining more traction. Recent research finds that a college degree is still worth the investment. But more and more companies, including Google and Apple, are eliminating degree requirements when hiring some candidates. And leaders ranging from the CEOs of Delta and Nielsen to state governors have recently touted the merits of skills-based hiring, arguing that it can help diversify candidate pools and even act as a salve to the ongoing labor shortage.
Now the pro-skills contingent has a new proponent in the storied halls of one of the nation’s most selective institutions: former national security advisor and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who told Fortune on Wednesday that she’s “very much in favor” of skills-based hiring.
