Governors in more than a dozen states have taken intentional steps to remove barriers to employment in the public sector by removing unnecessary bachelor’s degree requirements. This momentum for innovation in response to a tight labor market and a vision for economic opportunity has been accelerating the national policy conversation around skills-based hiring. These moves by Governors across the political spectrum have also highlighted the fact that, in most cases, the public sector represents the largest employment sector in the states.
In response to this Gubernatorial leadership, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), with generous support and partnership from Walmart.org, launched Skills in the States as a community of practice focused on skills-based hiring in the public sector.
This effort, that builds upon the prior Walmart-supported work of NGA’s Skills-Driven States initiative, brings states to the table as employers and provides the opportunity for public sector hiring practices to be a national blueprint for inclusion and innovation in response to workforce shortages. The Skills in the States Community of Practice includes 22 states and one territory and will convene throughout 2024 and early 2025 to identify and share emerging best practices, challenges, successes and lessons learned. These conversations will lead to the development of customized and tailored action plans that align with state goals. Upon completion, participants will accelerate or begin implementation of skills-based hiring initiatives at the state level.
In April 2024, the NGA Center brought together this cohort of future-focused state teams for a national convening in Washington D.C., engaging federal agency leads, private sector industry partners and experts in the field of skills-based hiring to outline the vision, best practices and strategic implementation strategies for state agencies to execute skills-based hiring initiatives. Attendees had an opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer learning and collaboration, attend interactive breakout sessions focused on crucial topics, and share key successes and challenges from their states while networking with peers and experts from across the country.
Skills In The States Community Of Practice
Empowering Progress: Harnessing Skills-Based Strategies to Drive Public Sector Excellence
A new report provides an overview of the initial actions taken by state and territory governments to implement skills-based hiring and talent management strategies through changes in policy and practice. It examines the impacts of these changes, highlighting both successes and challenges, and offers a set of strategic recommendations and metrics for state and territory governments to monitor progress and assess the effectiveness of skills-based policy and practice adoption.
For questions, or to learn more about this work, contact Program Director Amanda Winters (awinters@nga.org) or Project Manager Sytease Geib (sgeib@nga.org).
