June 30, 2025 Military Hiring: A Blueprint for a Skills-Based Workforce

Volume 28 | Issue 2

Military hiring offers a proven model for building skills-first hiring strategies that fill roles faster and expand your talent pool.

By Jay Koranda, Vice President of Recruiting, Orion Talent.

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Today’s employers are navigating a rapidly changing talent landscape. Traditional filters like college degrees and job titles are proving less effective at predicting job success, especially as skills evolve faster and new technologies reshape how work gets done. In response, more organizations are shifting toward a skills-based approach that emphasizes real-world capabilities over credentials.

At Orion Talent, this shift is not new. We have been practicing skills-based hiring for nearly 35 years through our work in military hiring. Each year, approximately 200,000 service members transition from active duty to the civilian workforce. These individuals may not have the degrees typically listed in job postings, but they bring something even more valuable: verified skills, technical expertise, mission-driven leadership, and practical experience under pressure.

The military instills adaptability, accountability, and technical proficiency. When employers learn to recognize and align these capabilities to their open roles, they unlock access to a highly qualified and often overlooked talent pool.

A Proven Approach to Skills Translation

The foundation of successful military hiring lies in focusing on skills, not credentials. Rather than filtering candidates by education or prior job titles, we evaluate the technical and leadership abilities that align to the needs of our clients.

Our recruiting teams have developed deep expertise in translating military experience into job-ready capabilities. For example, an Army Signal Support Systems Specialist has the communication and IT skills needed by employers in telecom and data center infrastructure. Military electronics technicians bring hands-on skills that are directly relevant to roles in field service and manufacturing. The overlap is significant, and our job is to help employers see it clearly.

As I often tell clients, our value lies not just in finding candidates but in helping them clearly understand what these candidates bring to the table. That is the heart of skills-based hiring.

The Case for Skills-Based Hiring Across Industries

The movement toward skills-based hiring is growing, and for good reason. Employers across nearly every sector are being forced to rethink how they assess talent. Several trends are driving this shift:

1. The decline of degree requirements
   According to Indeed’s 2025 Hiring Trends Report, the number of job postings requiring a bachelor’s degree fell from 20 percent before the pandemic to 17.6 percent in late 2024. This represents a large and growing opportunity for employers to expand their talent pools.
2. The rapid expiration of skills
   Technology is evolving quickly, and many roles now require skills that were not part of traditional degree programs. Companies need people who can learn and adapt, not just those with the right academic background.
3. The rise of AI on the job
   Many employers are finding that AI can fill knowledge gaps and support employees on the job. From AI-guided diagnostics for technicians to automated defect detection in production, technology is reshaping how work gets done.

This means companies can hire based on potential and provide the necessary tools to fill training gaps.

Lessons from Military Hiring

Military hiring has always been skills-first, long before that term became popular. Employers that want to adopt this approach can learn a great deal from the military recruiting model.

Here are five lessons that translate well:

1. Focus on what candidates can do
   Veterans may not follow traditional career paths, but they have real-world experience that matters. Hiring teams should shift their focus from degrees and titles to demonstrated competencies.
2. Use structured translation tools
   Orion Talent is working with organizations like SOLID and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to support Learning and Employment Records (LERs), which provide digital proof of a candidate’s skills. These records help bridge the gap between experience and opportunity.

3. Recognize alternative credentials
   In addition to military experience, bootcamps, apprenticeships, and online certifications are producing job-ready candidates. Employers should treat these as meaningful indicators of talent.
   
   
4. Test real skills directly
   Interviews and resumes have limitations. Military hiring often involves job simulations and hands-on evaluations. Any company can use these methods to make better hiring decisions.
5. Create structured pathways
   Veterans are often unfamiliar with civilian hiring processes. Providing clear pathways into the organization, including tailored onboarding and mentorship, improves retention and performance. This approach can work well for other underrepresented groups in the workforce.

Reskilling and Internal Mobility

Skills-based hiring does not end when a candidate is brought on board. It should be part of a broader workforce strategy that includes internal mobility and reskilling. Here are a few best practices we have seen work:

• Identify the specific skills your organization needs now and in the future.
• Provide employees with dedicated time for learning and development.
• Offer mentorship programs that reinforce continuous growth.
• Celebrate internal advancement and reskilling success stories.

When companies create a culture that values learning and flexibility, they build teams that are better equipped to meet future challenges.

Where to Begin

Shifting to a skills-first hiring approach does not require a complete overhaul of your talent strategy. Start by selecting one role, one team, or one pilot program. Identify a position that is consistently hard to fill or has high turnover. Rethink the job requirements by removing unnecessary degree or experience filters, and focus instead on the specific skills, competencies, and mindset needed to succeed.

Update the job description to reflect those requirements. Then, redesign the screening process to include skills assessments, job simulations, or structured interviews that evaluate capabilities directly. Equip hiring managers with guidance on how to interpret resumes that reflect unique career paths, such as those with military experience, career transitions, or cross-industry moves.

Track the results closely. Measure not just time to fill, but also early retention, job performance, and engagement. Use these insights to refine your process and build internal support. A successful pilot can become a model for scaling skills-based hiring across departments or business units.

Starting small allows you to learn and adapt while demonstrating the value of focusing on skills. The goal is progress, not perfection. Every step forward will create a more agile, capable, and future-ready workforce.

The Path Forward

Military hiring has shown us what is possible when organizations focus on capabilities over credentials. As the world of work continues to evolve, that model becomes even more relevant. Businesses that embrace skills-based hiring will find not only better candidates but also stronger teams, lower turnover, and greater long-term success.

At Orion Talent, we know this approach works. We have applied it for decades in helping veterans transition into successful careers, and we now help businesses apply the same framework across broader talent pools. Skills-based hiring is not about lowering standards, but rather redefining what it means to be truly job-ready.

Download our free guide, How to Tackle Skills Based Hiring in a Changing Job Market to learn more about making the shift to a skills-first strategy.

Jay Koranda is Vice President of Recruiting at Orion Talent.

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