Imagine you’re applying for a state government job. You don’t have a college degree, but you’ve spent years mastering data analysis, logistics, or customer service. Until recently, that missing diploma might have disqualified you outright. But in the past three years, more than half of state governments have embraced skills-based hiring, opening thousands of government jobs to workers based on what they can do — not just their credentials.
This progress has helped to create a fairer public-sector labor market — one where all Americans can work, learn, and earn to their full potential. However, generative AI (GenAI) is transforming work faster than our hiring systems can adapt. And if states don’t evolve their approaches, skills-based hiring won’t just stall — it could backfire and reinforce the very inequities it aims to dismantle.
According to a report from Salesforce, 60% of public-sector employees lack the AI skills needed to effectively apply the technology in their work. The same report found that only 28% of government employees consider themselves proficient in AI tools. This disparity raises a pressing question: As GenAI reshapes the nature of work, can public-sector skills-based hiring evolve to keep pace?
GenAI isn’t just another workplace tool — it’s a fundamental shift in how work gets done. It can draft legal contracts, generate software code, and analyze complex datasets. In Pennsylvania, an AI pilot program using OpenAI’s ChatGPT saved employees nearly two hours per day. That’s great for efficiency, but it also means that the most valuable workers are no longer those who can perform routine tasks quickly. Instead, hiring managers will prioritize candidates who can collaborate with AI, apply judgment, and solve complex problems in an AI-assisted environment.
Yet even the most forward-thinking skills-based hiring frameworks remain stuck in a pre-GenAI mindset. A job posting that asks for proficiency in SQL or Excel is better than one requiring a bachelor’s degree. But in a GenAI-driven workplace, employers must increasingly assess whether candidates can integrate GenAI tools into their workflow. Put another way, GenAI literacy is poised to replace the bachelor’s degree as the new proxy for career readiness. If states don’t update their hiring frameworks to emphasize GenAI fluency, they won’t just misjudge talent — they’ll widen the gap between those who can leverage GenAI and those left behind by it.
To keep skills-based hiring efforts aligned with the rapid advancements of GenAI, states should consider taking three strategic actions:
- Prioritize GenAI Fluency in Hiring — Job descriptions shouldn’t just list technical skills; they should explicitly ask for evidence that candidates can integrate GenAI into their roles. This will require hiring managers to evaluate problem-solving, adaptability, and AI literacy rather than just static skills. Private-sector employers increasingly are prioritizing GenAI skills in their job postings, and states ought to follow suit.
- Expand AI Training for Public Employees — Many states have issued executive orders on GenAI upskilling, but mandates alone won’t level the playing field, especially as political and budget pressures force cost-cutting. However, even with limited resources, states can expand AI literacy through community college partnerships, as California did in partnering with NVIDIA. As in Oklahoma, they can develop their own AI literacy programs through public-private partnerships, or they can implement on-the-job GenAI training programs aimed at improving government operations, as New Jersey did with its NJ AI Assistant program. States also should consider encouraging more workers to acquire GenAI-related professional certificates, which can make GenAI skills more accessible to workers without bachelor’s degrees.
- Audit and Rewrite Hiring Practices — States need to actively assess whether their hiring practices reflect the realities of AI-driven work. This means more than just removing degree requirements — it requires a comprehensive review of job descriptions to align with GenAI-era competencies. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management recently launched a transition to skills-based hiring for AI-related roles. This initiative will overhaul hiring in IT and AI-related job categories, ensuring that candidates are evaluated based on AI competencies rather than traditional credentials.
Skills-based hiring has always been about expanding opportunity — ensuring that more people have a fair shot at good jobs, regardless of their educational background. But without urgent action, GenAI could undermine that progress, creating a world where job candidates and workers with GenAI skills surge ahead while others fall further behind. Consider a new report released by Coursera, one of the world’s largest online training providers, which underscores this urgency. While GenAI can democratize learning, it also threatens to widen the digital divide if women and workers without college degrees don’t have equal access to GenAI training.
States that modernize their skills-based hiring practices now won’t just future-proof their workforces — they’ll set a new standard for equitable, skills-based hiring in the GenAI era.
Jonathan Hasak is a workforce development expert. He helps lead the public sector work in North America for Coursera, one of the world’s largest online training providers, where he creates government partnerships and develops strategies that enable public sector agencies to rapidly reskill and upskill their workforce.
Jonathan began his career working as a public school teacher and administrator in the Los Angeles, Oakland, and Boston public schools before transitioning to workforce development. He oversaw youth programs in the Metro North region of Massachusetts and helped lead public policy and government affairs at Year Up, a national job training organization, before joining Coursera.
Jonathan earned his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, his M.A. in Education Policy & Management at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and his B.A. from Bard College in Literature and Creative Writing. He has written and published dozens of articles and op-eds and his work has appeared in media outlets such as The Washington Post, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Forbes, and EdSurge.
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