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SHRM urges skills‑first hiring, apprenticeships and employer partnerships to close talent gaps
Summary
SHRM told the committee employers increasingly hire on skills and that expanding apprenticeships, internships and work‑based learning (SHRM’s E² initiative) can connect K‑12 and higher‑education pipelines to employers and help fill evolving jobs that require applied skills such as data and AI literacy.
Emily M. Dickens, chief administrative officer at SHRM, told the committee that employers are responding to faster job evolution by prioritizing skills credentials and work‑based learning. Dickens said SHRM research shows many employers have adapted hiring and training to emphasize applied skills — including data analysis, AI and cybersecurity — and that internships, apprenticeships and local business‑education partnerships are effective at building pipelines.
“We don't just have open jobs. We have evolving jobs,” Dickens said, noting that 78% of HR professionals report using skills credentials regularly and that apprenticeships and internships show strong effectiveness where they are used.
Dickens described SHRM’s Education‑to‑Employment (E²) initiative, which focuses on awareness (helping educators understand employer expectations), advocacy (policy modernization) and action (building partnerships and expanding experiential learning). She said employer engagement in these pathways can improve access for opportunity youth and workers with disabilities and help employers recruit and retain talent.
Committee members thanked Dickens and tied SHRM’s recommendations to several pending bills and the legislature’s interest in workforce–education alignment; Representative Mueller noted ongoing legislation to coordinate agencies and pathways and the committee asked SHRM to provide specific policy recommendations for the state task force.
Why it matters: as employers report more job evolution and skills needs, the committee can use employer‑facing strategies such as apprenticeships and streamlined partnerships to help close gaps between education credentials and employer expectations.
