AI Hiring Shift: Skills Now Trump Degrees in UK Job Market

Employers in the UK are prioritizing AI skills over formal education, leading to a surge in skill-based hiring and wage premiums for industry expertise. With AI roles demanding highly specialized knowledge, job seekers with the right skills can now out-earn those with traditional degrees.

Research: Skills or degree? The rise of skill-based hiring for AI and green jobs. Image Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock

A new analysis from researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change on 26 February 2025, examines how businesses in the UK are responding to the hiring gaps in AI-related recruitment and whether skills proficiency commands a higher salary than a higher education degree. 

In their paper, "Skills or degree? The rise of skill-based hiring for AI and green jobs," the Oxford team analyzed over 10 million online job vacancies in the UK between 2018 and 2024 and applied statistical analysis and a regression model to examine the association between higher education degrees, skills requirements, and financial remuneration. 

The researchers find: 

Specific skills now outweigh traditional qualifications in many AI jobs 

• Between 2018 and 2024, job postings requiring at least one AI skill increased by nearly 21%. 

• For AI-related roles, such as developing a chatbot like ChatGPT, job advertisements were three times more likely to mention explicit skills compared to job openings in other sectors. 

• AI-related occupations typically still require a higher level of education and a larger number of skills, reflecting their complex nature. 

Fewer AI employers require formal higher education qualifications 

• Between 2018 and 2014, the number of AI job advertisements requiring formal higher education qualifications fell by 15%. 

• The demand for formal education requirements for AI roles has fallen over time, from 36% of AI roles in 2018 to 31% of AI roles in 2023, suggesting a slight shift towards employers valuing skills and experience over formal education in AI roles. 

Shifts in demand for specialist skills lead to higher salaries in AI-related fields 

• Science, engineering, and technology jobs, such as Data Scientists, that require AI capabilities and skill-based qualifications can lead to salaries that are three times higher than general roles requiring higher education qualifications, like bachelor's or master's degrees.

• AI skills and expertise, offering a 23% wage premium for them compared to a 13% wage premium for Master's degrees and a 33% premium for Ph. Ds. 

• In science, engineering, and tech jobs, the AI skills premium is 36%, higher than the wage premium for formal degrees. 

Commenting on the findings, Dr. Fabian Stephany, Departmental Research Lecturer in AI & Work, Oxford Internet Institute, and co-author of the study, said, 

'Our research suggests that the UK's labor market is undergoing a fundamental shift. The traditional path of university education leading to higher pay is no longer the default for AI professionals, who are now being rewarded for practical skills and industry-specific know-how. 

'Education and training providers should embrace flexible programs informed by industry requirements and provide micro-certificates and credentials for skills acquired outside of formal education. 

By valuing a candidate's proven abilities as much as their academic background, employers can access to a far wider talent pool – one better suited to handle the rapid evolution defining the future of work.' 

Download the full paper, 'Skill or Degree? The Rise of Skill-Based Hiring for AI and Green Jobs, Matthew Bone, Eugenia Ehlinger, and Fabian Stephany, published in the Journal of Technological Forecasting and Social Change on 26 February 2025.