Charting New Career Pathways: Partnering with Community Colleges in Maryland on Skills-Based Hiring. Lessons Learned from ACCT's Skills-Based Hiring Initiative

In 2022, Maryland implemented a new initiative focused on removing degree requirements from state positions. This initiative opened over 19,000 jobs to more than 1.3 million individuals Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)--such as community college, workforce training, or on-the-job experience--rather than through a bachelor's degree in the State of Maryland. Skills-based/skills-first hiring has since branched across the U.S., with 22 states opening more than 467,000 jobs to STARs across the nation. Following Maryland's announcement to remove degree requirements from state positions, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) launched the Skills-Based Hiring Initiative in 2023. The focus of ACCT's initiative is to facilitate a pilot program in Maryland dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of skills-based hiring. ACCT partnered with Opportunity@Work, the State of Maryland, and four Maryland Community Colleges (Carroll Community College, Community College of Baltimore County, Frederick Community College, and Howard Community College). This brief serves as a review of lessons learned and recommendations from the Maryland pilot program for institutions, organizations, and state/local government agencies looking to partner to create pathways for STARs. This brief outlines the initial scope of the project and how ACCT had to pivot, along with challenges that were encountered, lessons learned along the way, and it highlights the project that has resulted in improved collaboration with a community college and a state agency that has had significant vacancy rates. [Opportunity@Work partnered with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) to produce this report.]