
Skills-First Workforce Hiring: Creating More Equitable and Inclusive State Employment Opportunities Using AI
Addressing Job Description and Legal Barriers to Workers Obtaining State Employment
The Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University is leading a skills-first public sector workforce hiring initiative in partnership with New Jersey’s Civil Service Commission to address systemic barriers to access to state employment for workers without college degrees. The project will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) through the use of Policy Synth, a tool powered by ChatGPT and Claude, to analyze job descriptions and relevant state laws. The initiative focuses on identifying and reforming unnecessary college degree requirements that disproportionately exclude workers without degrees, particularly people of color and those from low-income backgrounds.
By making job descriptions more accessible and aligned with skills-based hiring, the project aims to improve equity, inclusivity, and the effectiveness of public-sector hiring practices.
This skills-first talent management initiative will analyze more than 3,000 job descriptions for readability and degree requirements, analyze legal barriers to skills-based hiring, and collaborate with state stakeholders to implement reforms. The project is expected to result in an increase in new state hires of workers without college degrees, increasing income, economic security, and economic mobility for these workers. Additionally, with additional investment from partners, the Burnes Center aims to scale this project to other states, not only tackling systemic inequities but establishing a replicable, low-cost, efficient model for skills-based talent management by states across the country.
The initiative is led by Seth Harris, Distinguished Professor of Practice at Northeastern University and Affiliated Faculty and a Senior Fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change. Prior to joining Northeastern University, Professor Harris was the Deputy Assistant to the President for Labor and the Economy and Deputy Director of the Biden White House’s National Economic Council. He had previously served as President Obama Acting Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Interested in learning more? Contact us at [email protected].
funding
In January 2025, the project was awarded $250,000 through the GitLab Foundation’s AI for Economic Opportunity Fund . Read the full announcement.