Considering skills-based hiring? Resource hub helps agencies move from concept to practice

Woman wearing a white hard hat screws a wrench on machinery.

Woman wearing a white hard hat screws a wrench on machinery. Phynart Studio via Getty Images

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

The STARs Public Sector Hub will offer data, research and collaborative resources to help governments implement skills-based hiring.

It’s estimated that for the 850,000 open positions in state and local government in November 2023, only 330,000 people were hired. For many agencies, vacant positions stymie workflow and weaken customer service as short-staffed teams try to address the issues that outnumber them. 

With unemployment so low, government has trouble competing for workers, so agencies are starting to fill empty jobs by innovating the hiring process. Recruiters are focusing on candidates’ experience and skills rather than relying on higher-ed degrees to screen job applicants. 

As of February, at least 19 states have moved to reconsider degree requirements or remove them from job postings entirely. But progress has been slow as officials figure out how to make skills-based hiring work, unsure of how to define skills and how to assess them to inform the hiring process. 

That’s where the Skilled Through Alternative Routes, or STARs, Public Sector Hub comes in. 

Launching last week, the STARs Public Sector Hub gives government officials access to data, research insights, and policy and programming playbooks, among other tools to sharpen their own skills-based hiring programs. 

Participating members can collaborate and share ideas at events and get technical assistance rolling out skills-based hiring through the hub. For a fee, members can receive customized insights, a narrative designed to encourage leaders to action and data to support skills-based employment, according to the site of Opportunity@Work, the nonprofit leading the initiative. 

The hub’s work is also supported by organizations including CompTIA, Google, LinkedIn, McKinsey and Company, among others. 

With 62% of working-age Americans not holding a college diploma and public sector workforce shortages continuing, it's time to rethink government job requirements, experts said. Plus, the nation’s pivot to clean energy and advanced technologies will require workers with new skills—many of which can’t be learned by sitting in a college classroom. 

“There has been a wave of legislation and public and private investment coming into many new and emerging industries,” said Byron Auguste, CEO and co-founder of Opportunity@Work, at an event announcing the organization’s new workforce initiative. “If you do the math, there’s absolutely no way that semiconductors, health care, green energy—none of these fields—can actually be staffed … without skills.” 

Observers say degree requirements often bar otherwise qualified applicants from being considered for certain jobs. The practice also exacerbates economic inequities as degrees traditionally make it easier to secure higher-paying jobs.

Plus, opening up jobs to people with different backgrounds and capabilities brings unique advantages to the table, Steeve Auguste, a service desk analyst for Massachusetts, told Route Fifty. They can, for instance, better connect with residents through their shared backgrounds, improving customer service and service delivery. 

In June, the STARs Public Sector Hub will start accepting applications for its first cohort of state leaders to discuss developments in skills-based hiring. Opportunity@Work will host a webinar June 5 to share more details on programming and application details. Interested parties can register here

Senior manager of policy at Opportunity@Work Henry Bartholomay told Route Fifty that the cohort’s timeline and programming are still under review, but it’s slated to run for 12 to 24 weeks and will focus on overcoming challenges in skills-based hiring as identified by participants. 

Preliminary feedback from interested states, for instance, indicates policymakers are unsure how to substitute hiring assessments for degrees, he said. While hiring managers may check someone’s transcript during the evaluation process, agencies must determine an equitable way to assess someone’s skills. 

The cohort aims to help “explore what that answer would be, and how that applies to the public sector,” Bartholomay said. 

Ultimately, states need support as they write the next chapter on hiring practices. It will take legislative action, systems change and even cultural shifts to implement effective skills-based hiring in the public sector, he said. 

The STARs Public Sector Hub will serve as a foundation for state and local government agencies determining how to make skills-based hiring work for them. “Perfection is the enemy of starting,” Bartholomay said at the event.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.