When two leaders with decades of tech experience talk about the future of tech hiring, executives should listen. Both agree on one thing: skilled talent in the sector exists. However, finding it is almost impossible when companies rely on the same pipelines year after year. This traditional model no longer meets employers’ needs, especially as the hiring landscape becomes increasingly AI-driven.

At Per Scholas’ anniversary fireside chat, former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Recognize Managing Partner and Co-founder Charles Phillips brought unique perspectives to one of the biggest challenges in tech right now and how skills-based hiring can solve it.

Employers Are Facing an Access Problem, Not a Talent Problem

Rometty and Phillips say that tech companies aren’t struggling with a talent shortage. The problem is accessing qualified candidates. Capable technologists come from all backgrounds, but hiring processes and systems filter them out before they even reach the interview stage. For example, HR screening often prioritizes credentials, favoring applicants with formal education over practical skills and experience. Or pedigree over potential.

“I learned that 65% of adults in America don’t have a college degree,” says Rometty. “That means you have missed 65% of people in this country for jobs.”

Phillips reinforces this point by sharing how traditional sourcing pipelines fail to deliver the talent his companies need. As a result, he’s explored alternative ways to find candidates. These experiences highlight how degree requirements and legacy sourcing habits limit an employer’s ability to compete for technical talent.

“Aptitude and access are not spread equally,” adds Rometty. “Aptitude is, but not access. At the end of the day, where you start should not determine where you end.” 

Despite their different backgrounds, Rometty and Phillips agree that an access gap is in play here, not a talent one. The talent exists, the systems need to evolve to find it.

Skills-Based Hiring Has Proven Its Value Inside Major Enterprises

Both leaders recognize that skills-based recruitment, which focuses on a candidate’s specific capabilities, is far more effective at identifying talent than proxies like formal education or years of experience without compromising performance.

Case in point: Rometty’s early cybersecurity hiring revealed that nontraditional technologists could easily match the performance of those with degrees. Moreover, this talent demonstrated greater loyalty to the company.

“I will tell you that our experience with that group is that they were more retentive, more loyal, took as much education, and had the same performance as my college grads,” she says. “There’s nothing to not like about that equation.” 

Phillips experienced similar outcomes when recruiting Salesforce-trained technologists through Per Scholas, which provides hands-on, AI-enabled tech training at no cost. Hires benefited from both performance and retention.

“Trying to compete for talent in the tech industry is very tough,” he says. “When I started going to nontraditional places, they were much more loyal. They performed just as well, if not better. But they were hard to find. And so after trying to do this on my own, I met Plinio Ayala [CEO of Per Scholas], and that was the answer.” 

For both leaders, the results were consistent: skills-based hiring produced high performers, strengthened retention, and created dependable pipelines into critical roles.

However, leaders need to commit to and scale these models. Hiring one or two candidates this way won’t change outcomes or workplace culture. Hiring in cohorts, however, allows for more predictable and measurable talent pipelines. This requires a shift in policy and a long-term workforce strategy.

Overall, both Rometty and Phillips came to the same conclusion independently. Skills-based hiring produces stronger technologists and delivers a range of business benefits, including cost savings and reduced turnover.

Leadership Commitment Is Essential With AI

Rometty says the skills-based approach only works when leaders treat it as a strategic priority and remove internal barriers to access. She noted that skills-first hiring requires executive sponsorship, policy change, and a willingness to challenge long-standing assumptions.

“Don’t go down this path unless you authentically believe it,” says Rometty, who reduced degree requirements across half of IBM’s roles. “100% of the jobs required PhDs or bachelor’s degrees. After 5 years, that number was 50%. As I retired, I would say almost 20% of our hiring was from these nontraditional sources.” 

Phillips also believes that good leadership is essential for the success of the skills-based approach. He says that reducing risk and reframing talent pools helped his organization embrace this hiring model.

Both Rometty and Phillips believe that AI has made skills-based hiring even more urgent. With job roles changing so quickly, companies can no longer afford to rely on narrow talent pools. Instead, they must embrace skills-based pathways and a talent strategy for AI now to capitalize on future opportunities.

“For all of us who use AI or build it, I think it’s our responsibility now to prepare another workforce,” adds Rometty. “You can’t just let this come into the world and not bring it in safely. And part of that is more people have to have better jobs because of it. What we’re both here to say is hire more people that way [through skills-based hiring].” 

“This is a dynamic industry that’s changing with AI,” says Phillips. “So, we’re going to have to constantly create new job roles and know what those roles are, and then consider people for those new roles as well. I just ask everyone to think bigger and evolve.”

Preparing for an AI-Driven Future

Their message is unmistakable: employers must widen access, invest in skills-first talent pipelines, and prepare their teams for the next era of tech work.

Click here to view the full fireside chat with Ginni Rometty and Charles Phillips and hear more of their insights about expanding access, removing barriers, hiring differently, and AI workforce development. Then connect with Per Scholas to explore how skills-based technologists can strengthen your team by lowering costs, reducing time-to-hire, and improving retention.