In March 2022, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan enacted a first-in-the-nation executive policy to remove college degree requirements from more than 10,000 public job openings. This groundbreaking policy shift set a precedent for states across the country, highlighting the potential of skills-based hiring to create more inclusive and effective public sector workforces. Skills-based hiring has since been implemented in over 20 states. Additionally, in 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order removing unnecessary degree requirements from federal job requirements.

In this previously recorded discussion, our partner the Cicero Institute and Joe Farren, formerly the Chief Strategy Officer at the Maryland Department of Labor, serving under Former Governor Larry Hogan, explore how to remove degree requirements in the public sector and the transformative journey Maryland embarked on to prioritize skills over degrees.

The Cicero Institute is a nonpartisan policy organization focused on fixing broken systems in the public sector. During this webinar, they showcase their recent playbook, “Find the Most Qualified Candidates by Putting Skills First: A guide to successfully implementing skills-based hiring in the public sector.” The Cicero Institute has developed this step-by-step guide to help governments implement skills-based strategies from defining roles, responsibilities, and goals to encouraging organizational alignment, stakeholder buy-in, and developing a learning curriculum for skills training.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how the State of Maryland navigated challenges and opportunities of removing degree requirements and reimagining hiring practices
• Gain actionable strategies and tools to help you champion skills-based hiring in your organization