In cooperation with LIGS University and EDU Effective Business School, we hosted an online debate on the topic “Degree vs Skills: What Defines Your Career?”
The discussion brought together professionals from education, leadership, HR, and career development to explore one practical question: what matters more for career growth today – a formal degree, or the ability to prove real skills in practice?
Here are the key insights that stood out from the discussion.
The online roundtable focused on a question many professionals are asking right now: In today’s job market, what matters more for career growth – a formal degree or practical skills?
The discussion showed that the answer depends on the role, industry, and career stage. Degree versus skills is not a clean either-or choice. A degree can create credibility and open doors, especially in senior and executive roles. Skills prove whether someone can perform in real situations. Results show whether learning has actually created value.
For professionals who want to move into leadership, the strongest position is not choosing one side. It is knowing how to combine formal education, practical capability, and evidence of real impact.
One of the key points from the discussion was that the value of a degree or skill set depends heavily on the industry, country, and seniority of the role.
For some positions, especially technical or mid-level roles, a strong portfolio and recent practical skills can matter more than formal education. But for executive roles, degrees such as an MBA, DBA, or Ph.D. still carry weight because they signal credibility, long-term effort, and broader business understanding.
Ladislav Tobiasz Ph.D., DBA shared a practical example from his own career. He started with a bachelor’s degree in economics and language certifications, which helped him enter an international company and begin in junior management. Later, when he wanted to grow into more senior positions, he saw that experience alone was not enough. He continued with an MBA, a Master of Science, a DBA, and a Ph.D. For him, advanced education was not only about the title. It helped him go deeper into research, strategy, and new business opportunities.
The discussion also showed the limits of relying only on degrees.
One speaker described a hiring experience with a senior logistics and supply chain candidate. On paper, the candidate looked strong. The degree was there, the experience looked good, and even reference checks seemed promising. But after hiring, the problem became clear: communication with upper management was fine, while communication with employees on the shop floor was extremely weak.
That example captured one of the most important points of the roundtable. A degree can help someone get considered. It does not automatically prove leadership, communication, empathy, or the ability to work with people at different levels of the organization.
Skills such as communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence, leadership, problem-solving, and digital fluency came up repeatedly. These are the skills that decide whether someone can handle real situations, not only pass academic requirements.
A strong insight from the HR perspective was that learning has to be translated into trusted value.
It is not enough to say: “I have an MBA.” Or: “I completed five leadership courses.”
The stronger question is: What did you do with that knowledge?
For example, a professional should be able to explain how a course, degree, or certificate helped them manage a team, improve communication, solve a business problem, enter a new market, or make better decisions.
This is where many candidates can become stronger. They collect degrees or certificates, but they do not connect them to outcomes. Hiring managers are not only interested in what someone studied. They want to understand what the person can achieve with it.
The panel also discussed whether modern online education can deliver both credibility and practical competence.
The strongest answer was that it can, but only when it includes three elements:
Knowledge means understanding principles, not only memorizing content. Application means working with real problems, not only theory. Adaptability means building the ability to continue learning as the market changes.
This distinction is important because both traditional education and short online courses can fail if they are too shallow. A traditional degree can be too theoretical. A short skills course can be too narrow. Neither is enough if it does not help the professional think, apply, adapt, and create value.
For broader context, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 also points to changing skill needs as one of the major forces shaping the labour market. LinkedIn’s workplace learning research similarly keeps career development and skills growth at the centre of learning discussions. These trends support what the roundtable speakers described from their own professional experience.
The discussion did not dismiss skills-based learning. On the contrary, the speakers agreed that practical skills are essential.
But there was also a warning: skills-only learning can become too narrow if it is not connected to broader thinking.
A short certificate can teach a tool, method, or specific competence. That is useful when the professional needs to solve an immediate problem. But for long-term career growth, especially in leadership, people also need strategic thinking, business understanding, communication, and the ability to connect different areas.
This is where executive education can still help. A good MBA, DBA, or Ph.D. program should not only provide information. It should help professionals understand context, evaluate problems, work with research, and make more informed decisions.
One practical recommendation from the discussion was clear: do not wait until you feel blocked in your career.
Vanessa Sesi FLPI ,WRFL, EMBA, BA. emphasized that professionals in middle management should think ahead. Once someone reaches a middle management role, they should already ask what they will need for the next step. Waiting until the role feels limiting can make career development reactive instead of strategic.
The useful questions are:
Where am I now?
Where do I want to be in two or three years?
What skills, credibility, or evidence am I missing?
For someone aiming at executive roles, the missing piece may be strategic management, finance, governance, leadership, or stronger communication. For someone changing industries, it may be a recognized degree. For someone already highly educated, the next step may be a focused practical skill.
A recurring theme was that the strongest professionals combine both sides. A degree can open a door, especially in environments where formal qualification is expected. Skills help the person perform once they are inside. Results make the strongest case because they prove that learning has been applied.
One participant summarized this idea as a simple formula: skills plus degree equals success. It may be simplified, but it reflects the main conclusion of the roundtable well.
The real advantage is not having the longest CV. It is being able to show a clear connection between education, skills, and real professional contribution.
The roundtable did not end with a winner between degree and skills. The better conclusion was that professionals need both, depending on their goals, industry, and career stage. If someone needs credibility, structure, and strategic depth, a degree or executive program can be the right investment.
For career growth, the most important thing is not collecting titles or badges. It is building capability and proving it through action.
Degree versus skills is really a question of career readiness. A degree can make people listen. Skills show what you can do. Results make your value visible.
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