Something significant is happening in the American workforce. Employers across industries are rethinking what they look for in a candidate, and a four-year college degree is no longer the default answer.
Instead, many employers are looking for proof: demonstrated, validated, industry-recognized proof that a candidate has the specific skills to do the job well. In allied health, this has always been the standard. And right now, the rest of the workforce is catching up.
What Is Skills-Based Hiring?
Skills-based hiring refers to employers prioritizing verified, relevant competencies over academic credentials when evaluating candidates. Rather than filtering applicants by whether they have a degree, they focus on whether the applicant can actually do the job.
This shift is well underway, and the research backs it up. A Harvard Business School and Burning Glass Institute study that analyzed more than 51 million job postings found that 46% of middle-skill occupations experienced a material reduction in degree requirements, with employers often specifying more concrete technical and soft skills instead. The message is clear: employers want to know that you can do the work.
Allied Health Has Always Been Skills-First
In allied health, skills-based hiring isn't a new trend. It's the foundation the industry was built on. Medical assistants, phlebotomists, EKG technicians, patient care technicians, surgical technicians, and other allied health professionals don't need a four-year degree to enter their field. What they do need is demonstrated competency, verified through a third-party certifying agency, like AAH.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, technical schools, and private allied health training programs have been preparing workforce-ready graduates through exactly this model. For many students, these programs are the fastest, most affordable, and most direct route to a stable career in healthcare.
National certification is the capstone of that pathway. It's the third-party, standardized assessment that confirms a candidate meets national standards of care. It's not a substitute for real-world competency. It's a measure of it.
Employers Who Are Leading by Example
Forward-thinking healthcare organizations aren't just valuing certification in their hiring decisions. They're actively investing in it for their existing teams. Two of AAH's valued partners are great examples of organizations that are doing exactly that.
GoHealth Urgent Care
GoHealth Urgent Care has implemented a program to sponsor eligible employees to pursue national certification through AAH. By investing in their team's professional credentials, GoHealth is making a tangible commitment to both employee development and the quality of care their patients receive. That's the kind of initiative that benefits everyone: the employee, the organization, and the patient.
GoHealth Urgent Care is currently hiring across the country. If you're an allied health professional looking to grow with an organization that invests in you, explore their open positions here.
Children's Health of Carolina
Children's Health of Carolina takes a similarly intentional approach. Their partnership with AAH pairs national certification with a pay increase for eligible employees, recognizing that credentialed professionals deserve to be compensated accordingly. The result is a model that elevates patient care, promotes consistent clinical standards, and strengthens employee retention.
Why This Matters for Your Organization
These partnerships reflect something larger: healthcare employers increasingly understand that investing in certification is investing in quality. When employees are supported in earning national credentials, organizations benefit from:
- Higher quality patient care: certified staff are assessed against national standards, rather than just on-the-job training.
- Better employee retention: employees who feel invested in are more likely to stay.
- Consistent clinical standards: certification creates a uniform baseline of knowledge across your organization.
- A competitive edge in hiring: supporting certification is a benefit that makes your organization more attractive to motivated candidates.
Partner With AAH to Build a Certification Program at Your Organization
If you're a healthcare employer or workforce agency interested in making national certification more accessible to your employees, AAH makes it simple to get started. As a testing partner, you'll have access to a portal to register employees, schedule exams, track progress, and pull detailed reporting, all in one place. Every registration includes study guides, practice tests, and a retake exam, and there's no cost to become a testing partner.
Learn more about partnering with AAH at AmericanAlliedHealth.com/partners
Ready to Certify?
If you're an allied health professional considering national certification, now is a great time to take that step. Employers are increasingly looking for third-party verification of your skills, and AAH makes it easy to get there. With online testing, included study resources, and affordable pricing, you can join over 60,000 certified professionals working in every U.S. state and more than 30 countries worldwide. Browse our certifications to find the right fit for you.