Recent changes bring more access to state jobs

ALBANY | In an effort to open up more employment opportunities to a broader range of New Yorkers, the Department of Civil Service has updated qualifications for hundreds of state jobs to allow for consideration of equivalent experience as an alternative for college degrees. "Many jobseekers have gained valuable real-world work experience in their careers and can use their unique skills and talents to contribute to New York's dedicated public workforce," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in announcing the change Oct. 28. "This common sense change, which is already used by many employers in the private and public sectors nationwide, will eliminate a barrier to rewarding careers faced by many prospective public servants and allow them to put their experience to work to benefit all New Yorkers." The Department of Civil Service modernized the minimum requirements for nearly 800 entry- and promotional-level civil service titles to allow equivalent experience as an alternative for college degrees when evaluating jobseekers. By combining experience-based hiring with degree-based hiring, New York is expanding opportunities for many jobseekers without diluting the quality of the candidate pool. The change, which will take effect this week, impacts close to 20,000 positions in 800 titles. These are currently filled by more than 15,000 employees across state government agencies. Of those titles, more than 600 of them are promotional titles open to current state employees, while more than 150 are entry-level titles open to the general public and are used by state agencies to fill professional job types across a wide range of disciplines. College degree requirements for middle skill jobs — those that require employees with more than a high school diploma but less than a college degree — restricts the candidate pool and is a barrier for many, locking out the more than half of working-aged adults who do not hold a bachelor's degree. Employers nationwide are resetting degree requirements for a wide range of roles for entry-level, professional, and even some supervisory and managerial positions. This is not only a trend in the private sector. The federal government and some states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, have allowed experience as an alternative to degree requirements for thousands of jobs. Knowledge, skills and abilities gained from work and life experience can be as valuable as university diplomas in today's fast-changing environment. Furthermore, allowing experience as an alternative to degree requirements offers opportunities for a more diverse and inclusive workforce for many positions, which many non-degree holders are well-qualified to fill through experience.

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Recent changes bring more access to state jobs

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