Innovating for equity: ASU's skills-first approach to student hiring and employment

Arizona State University (ASU) is dedicated to innovation, inclusivity, and lifelong learning. As a SkillsFWD grantee, ASU is leading a project to empower student workers and foster economic development through learning and employment records (LERs) — hoping to improve job matching and reduce hiring process bias.

The project addresses multiple complex issues, including identifying and reducing barriers to hiring for employers and creating equal opportunities for all student employees, regardless of their backgrounds. ASU hopes a skills-first approach will help with job matching and placements. 

We had a conversation with Scott Travis, program director of Work plus Learn strategic initiatives at ASU, to learn how the university spotlights student skills and how they see LERs contributing to improving equity and access, workforce readiness and collaboration in hiring.

SkillsFWD: To start, can you walk us through the current state of your project?

SCOTT: We're designing LERs for Arizona State University student employees in collaboration with their supervisors and hiring managers. From there, students will generate a SmartResume for use in our private ASU student employment marketplace, enabling them to browse hiring departments interested in their skills. SmartResume allows organizations to assist individuals in creating certified resumes using comprehensive, verified credentials.

Our hiring departments at ASU will also be onboarded to the marketplace. They will create profiles focused on skills and recommend which students to hire based on how their specific skills match the roles that departments want to fill. 

The process involves excluding identifying information to reduce bias. Personal information is only shared when the department chooses to connect with the student. We hope that a specific focus on skills will address current barriers in our system. Three hundred students may apply for one student-employee job, resulting in many resumes. And some students may underestimate their skills if they have never created a resume. We are excited about it.

SkillsFWD: What are your top priorities and goals for its future state?

SCOTT: We aim to deliver valuable, portable LER credentials to student workers and launch the first skills-based hiring marketplace at ASU, piloting and expanding it to include all positions. The university employs over 12,000 student employees annually, and we want to show how valuable this marketplace can be. 

SkillsFWD: What inspired creating digital credentials for ASU students, and what challenges were you seeking to solve?

SCOTT: The main inspiration was another ASU program called Work+. It reimagines student employment, focusing on skill development and articulation. 

Through our Work+ program pilots and many feedback, design, and listening sessions with our students and their supervisors, we identified several barriers to the success of the student employment experience and associated hiring practices. These barriers are the focus of our work and what we hope to solve as our SkillsFWD pilot kicks off in September. 

We've already identified three primary student needs. One is identifying roles that align with student’s interests and supporting them in building the skills to connect with their post-completion goals. Also, ASU offers many opportunities, making it difficult for some students to find and apply for well-matched positions based on their skills or the skills they want to gain. 

Lastly, our international student population encounters many frustrations when navigating the hiring process. These students may be unable to work off campus and often apply to everything because that's their only option. We hope the job marketplace and skills-first hiring approach level the playing field. 

SkillsFWD: ASU had a built-in user population for this LER ecosystem, but despite that, have you faced any barriers to adoption among students or employers? If so, how have you addressed them?

SCOTT: As mentioned, our first pilot launches in the fall. However, we have already started implementing co-design sessions with users, supervisors, and students. 

We've allocated significant grant funding to provide stipends for students and employers to encourage participation in this pilot. Students will be compensated for their time creating a SmartResume and registering in the job marketplace, while employers will receive stipends for revising their job descriptions to prioritize skills.

Providing incentives for participating in projects involving significant changes to an existing system can lead to better participation and completion throughout the pilot. We do this a lot at ASU. Anytime we ask our students to work with us or co-design, they get paid for it just like the staff would. 

SkillsFWD: How have you collaborated with partners or other departments at the university on this project?

SCOTT: This project is unique because SmartResume is our only external vendor, while everything else is internal to ASU. My group, University College, and the Enterprise Technology group partnered on this grant. My department focuses on programming and provides access to student employees, various departments, and their supervisors for feedback.

Our technology department already had tools like our Trusted Learner Network and Pocket mobile wallet built out, so we didn't have to find a vendor for what we were already working on internally.

We also collaborate through weekly cross-departmental Zoom meetings and find in-person working sessions very beneficial. We just completed a journey mapping session with our hiring managers and are now working to ensure that our pilot, job marketplace, and LERs address user needs and barriers.

SkillsFWD: At the SkillsFWD convening in DC earlier this year, the ASU team identified some of the project's strengths, including providing a valuable service through resume-build marketplace design and UX-focused wallet technology. Can you expand on those, as well as any other strengths?

SCOTT: Our student employees are building valuable skills through campus employment. With the LERs and SmartResume integration, they'll learn to identify and translate these skills, better preparing for post-college employment.

Many students experience their first job through campus employment, so building a resume is challenging. Our project will pull in digital credentials and work they've completed to help them structure a resume — it’s a really big win. 

SkillsFWD: ASU is recognized globally for its innovation and societal impact. How does developing an interoperable LER ecosystem fit the university's overarching vision and goals?

SCOTT: Developing an interoperable LER ecosystem at ASU strategically aligns with our university's commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and societal impact. It also supports lifelong learning, enhances workforce readiness, and promotes equity — all while fostering collaboration and driving economic development. 

ASU promotes lifelong learning. An interoperable LER ecosystem supports this by providing a continuous record of an individual's skills and learning achievements, making it easier for learners to pursue continuous education and career development.

ASU also prioritizes inclusivity. The ecosystem aims to democratize all students' access to education and job opportunities by providing a transparent and equitable platform to showcase their skills and competencies, regardless of background.

SkillsFWD: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

SCOTT: We're still in the design phase and are close to implementing the first pilot. Feedback is built in throughout, so we’ll iterate and adapt. We also look forward to learning with our users along the way and making a difference in hiring and skills work with our students.

ASU envisions a system that provides equal access and efficiency for the people operating it. Now, we just need to test it and evaluate outcomes.