‘Skills First’ Still Means ‘College Required’ at US Firms (1)

Bank of America Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. are falling short on promises to hire more workers without college degrees, according to a new report.

They’re among the 45% of large US firms that declared a college degree unnecessary for many roles and then didn’t change their hiring practices, according to an analysis from Harvard Business School and Burning Glass Institute, a labor-focused nonprofit. Another 18% of companies — including Delta Air Lines Inc. — made progress early on, only to revert to old patterns later.

Researchers studied a sample of 11,300 roles at firms that had changed degree requirements over the ...