At the NASCIO Midyear conference last week, tech leaders indicated that some of those worries remain, but there’s been a distinct shift as states have embraced non-traditional hiring practices to recruit new talent.
Indiana is among the states eliminating traditional four-year degree requirements for IT roles, instead looking at what skills applicants bring as well as their willingness to learn.
The Indiana Office of Technology’s (IOT) SEAL, or State Earn and Learn, program, which hires people with non-technical backgrounds and pays them to work for IOT while they learn on the job, is just one creative way they’re attracting new talent. CIO Tracy Barnes said programs like this have “turned the tide” when it comes to issues with workforce gaps and that efforts to bring state IT salaries more in line with market rates have helped as well.
Tennessee has also turned to more non-traditional programs like Hiring Our Heroes, which connects military veterans with jobs, but CIO Stephanie Dedmon said some positions, like those in cybersecurity, remain challenging to fill.
To overcome this, she said the state is using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to give internships to college students pursuing cyber degrees, and to support other avenues toward building a robust talent pipeline.
*The Digital States Survey is conducted by the Center for Digital Government, part of e.Republic, Government Technology’s parent company.