About Us | MN Skills Based

About

Minnesota Skills-Based Hiring Accelerator

The Accelerator supports employers in Minnesota to adopt skills-based practices to attract, hire, retain, and promote quality talent; and career coaches and educators to better prepare job-seekers in this changing job environment.

The Accelerator program helps:

Employers find qualified candidates to fill job openings
Assess candidates' skills and knowledge to hire quality employees
Use data-driven tools to connect with new talent pools
Provide employee development to improve employee retention

A Case for Success

In 2021, Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota partnered with Urban League Twin Cities to implement and test the Markle Foundation's ReWork America Alliance's new approach to hiring shifting the focus from credentials to skills as a way to remove barriers.

Markle Foundation's Case Study of the Accelerator's first two years show the program's success including:

Improved support to job seekers by equipping career navigators with a skills-based career-coaching model.
Removed barriers to employment faced by job seekers by helping employers adopt skills-based hiring and talent management practices.
Built a broad coalition of workforce practitioners and policymakers to further influence the system from multiple points – including the recent change to eliminate the 4–year degree requirement for most MN government positions

Learn More

I think anyone, any employer, even if they’re further along on their skills-based hiring journey would be able to walk away with so much. They have tools, they have resources, they connected us with local organizations that can also help us build partnerships to be able to find people to fill positions in the future.

HR Generalist, Transportation Company

What skills-based practices can look like across the talent lifecycle

Sourcing: Understand and engage with the inclusive concept and language of skills, e.g.

Update and publish accurate job postings with advanced applicant accessibility.
Connect more effectively with worker serving organizations that have access to new talent pools.
Understand the transferability of skills when sourcing cross-industry for new employees.

Assessment: Assess for required skills with standardized interview guides and assessments, e.g.

Update and implement accurate and empowering interview guides and rubrics.
Add and evaluate applicant assessments, supplementing your interview process.

Retention: Upskill workers and enable internal mobility, e.g.

Accurately connect with training providers for precise employee development.
Develop internal ‘progression roadmaps’ from entry-level roles to advance roles.

*Foundational to skills-based talent efforts are a universal skills language(ontology) and an understanding of required and preferred competencies (skills, knowledge, and abilities)*