By my assumptions, there are strong indications already that we are moving past an era where employers put educational qualifications at the fore front of their requirement for employment into certain positions, some employers now hold personal qualities such as skills possessed by the individual ahead of the school they went to and the degree they graduated with. First, I would like to ask, could this be a reflection of a failing educational system? My second question is that if you happen to be the employer here, which will you consider more, school or skills?
I don't want to argue about which is best among the two but I will go straight to answer your second question that I bold in your post. Of course, if I'm in a position to employ and I have two applicants where one has only a school certificate and the other has both school certificate and a skill related to the job, I will definitely employ the one with a certificate and a skill. School certificate is just a piece of paper and can even be bought in some cases which means it shouldn't be a prerequisite when employing. Moreover, certificate can not do the work but personal experience and skills. Skill is what is required to move the company forward and not the number of first class or second class holders you have in your company. Quite alright, school is very necessary but we should be aware that it's just a strategy to delay the queue so government offices can not be over populated at a time.