In recent years, while selecting new staff, many recruiters have prioritized workers with
formal qualifications over those with hands-on experience or good personalities. This
state of affairs can be attributed to several reasons and I hold the belief that it will do more harm than good.
There are two underlying reasons as to why many employers prefer candidates
who have university degrees rather than those possessing life experience. Firstly, the
formal qualifications could somewhat guarantee an individual’s potential abilities in their
profession. In fact, no parents want to send their children to schools where the teachers
have no qualifications as they will be doubtful about whether the teachers could impart
necessary knowledge to their children or not. Another driving factor associated with this
trend is that non-academic applicants will need to be trained and imparted with in-depth
knowledge by recruiters, which is fairly laborious for them. Therefore, their top priority
could be workers who are ready to work and equipped with a well-rounded knowledge
and skills required to excel in their future career.
I believe that the negativity of favoring candidates having academic qualifications
over those who do not would eclipse its positive influences. This is because there are
still some students struggling to pay the high tuition fees, which prevent them from
pursuing higher education and acquiring academic knowledge from university despite
their hidden talents. Additionally, some people who decide to enter the workforce before
graduating from university can also be successful in their future prospects. Bill Gates,
for example, had left Harvard before graduating because he wanted to open a software
company with his friend and now has become one of the most successful and well-
known entrepreneurs without a college degree.
In conclusion, the provision of all-round knowledge and skills from tertiary
education and insufficient time for recruiters to train new staff are to blame for why
employers prefer recruiting academic applicants to non-academic ones and I am more
inclined to the view that its disadvantages will likely prevail.