Good point on this one. No matter how flashy our CV is, especially with our background in education, if the skills we have don't fit the required skills that the company and role are seeking then it will still not be enough for us to get hired. Skills are essential in finding work or even just starting our own career journey to be professionals. Having various skills gives such an advantage especially since competition is everywhere.
In developing countries, some companies may ask for a diploma to apply for a job and the higher the education we have, the more likely we are to get a good job. This is different from developed countries, they are more likely to look at individual skills before accepting a job. However, skills and abilities are important to make it easier for us to find work, even though the work is not in an office where we have to stay at regular working like hours.
but honestly having degree is just as important as having skills, otherwise you won't even get noticed by the HR.
its just how it is, there's reason why everyone is getting degree, not because its just fancy certificate to have, but because HR in company selects based on latest education.
and to show some skills are done after the you got accepted into the company, getting accepted is the difficult thing.
though its different in IT field where usually you gonna have job interview first hand that test out your technical skills.
If you work in an office, it may be true that skills and degrees are equally important, but if you work in the IT field, perhaps skills are the main thing you look at. Differences in needs are adjusted and if the target is to work in an office, a degree/diploma is very necessary as a requirement. But nowadays there are many jobs that require skills even though our education is not high.