Walmart has eliminated college degrees as a requirement for hundreds of its corporate roles.

The retail giant said last week that it would get rid of 'unnecessary barriers' that prevent career advancement, and that job applicants would start seeing updated job descriptions next year.

Walmart said it will waive the need for a university degree if candidates can show they have gained the necessary skills through alternative prior experience. 

'While degrees should be part of the equation and in some cases even required, there are many roles where a degree is simply unnecessary, including at corporate headquarters,' a blog post from the retailer read.

The move is part of a wider trend in the US jobs market. American companies like IBM, Accenture and Google have announced measures to reduce the number of jobs that require degrees.

'The fact that a company like Walmart is taking these steps really underscores the fact that this is a movement that has significant traction,' Maria Flynn, president of the Boston-based nonprofit Jobs for the Future, told Forbes.

Lorraine Stomski, a senior vice president for associate learning and leadership at Walmart, told Forbes the transition was spurred by a changing job landscape and the rise of artificial intelligence.

She noted that historically Walmart 'would create a job description based on what credentials were needed, which was a combination of some skills [with] a heavy emphasis on the credential needed.'