2 days ago
Springfield passes skills-based hiring ordinance to reduce job barriers
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The city of Springfield passed a skills-based hiring ordinance to expand access to city jobs.
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The Springfield City Council passed the ordinance, which authorizes all city departments to prioritize skills-based hiring standards wherever applicable. The change seeks to reduce barriers to employment for qualified candidates who demonstrate the skills needed to complete the job, but who may sometimes not have a college degree.
City Councilor Jose Delgado was the lead sponsor of the ordinance, which will now direct the Personnel and Labor Relations Departments to implement a skills-based hiring policy for city departments and create alternate means of evaluating candidates beyond minimum degree requirements that had previously been implemented.
'This ordinance is about creating opportunity,' Delgado said. 'We have many qualified residents with valuable work experience and transferable skills who are locked out of good-paying city jobs. This policy helps Springfield tap into a broader, more diverse talent pool and builds a stronger, more representative workforce.'
Similar initiatives have been adopted in other cities in Massachusetts, as well as in other states such as Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Colorado.
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