In January 2024, Governor Healey signed an Executive Order instituting skills-based hiring among executive departments and agencies. Leading by example, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to engaging with employers already implementing a skills-based hiring strategy and encourage more employers to join the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
MassSkills Goals
Convene
Lead by example to convene Massachusetts employers, large and small, and across industries, and learn from peers, additional experts, and proven best practices around skills-first talent management strategies.
Educate
Inform Massachusetts employers of tools and resources available to utilize skills-first talent management strategies to meet their workforce needs.
Diversify
Attract, retain, and develop untapped talent to build Massachusetts’ workforce by focusing on skills-first talent management strategies.
Membership
As a MassSkills member, your organization will join a learning community dedicated to sharing and implementing skills-first talent management strategies for a more competitive and equitable workforce.
Choose at least one focus area to participate in:
- Data Management: Assessing and measuring success
- Hiring Strategies: Revising job descriptions, updating technology (e.g., ATS), building sourcing partnerships, enhancing interviews and assessments, and exploring training pipeline models
- Retention and Upward Mobility: Developing career advancement paths, upskilling, fostering supportive work environments, and promoting mentorship and coaching
Co-Chair Leadership
- Lauren Jones, Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Tonja Mettlach, Executive Vice President, Massachusetts Business Roundtable
- Jerry Rubin, Eastern Bank Foundation, Visiting Fellow Harvard Project On The Workforce
- Chrissy Lynch, President, MA AFL-CIO
Employers
Asterisk denotes founding member

Labor
Asterisk denotes founding member

- North Atlantic States Carpenters Training Fund
Academia
Asterisk denotes founding member
- Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts*
- Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology*
- Brockton Public Schools
- Bunker Hill Community College*
- Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School
- Greenfield Community College
- Northern Essex Community College*
- Northeastern University*
Advisory Councils
Asterisk denotes founding member
- Governor’s Black Empowerment Advisory Council*
- Governor’s Latino Empowerment Advisory Council*
Business and Professional Groups
Asterisk denotes founding member
- Amplify Latinx*
- Associated Industries of Massachusetts*
- Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce*
- Charles River Chamber of Commerce*
- Economic Development Council of Western MA*
- Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce*
- Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges*
- Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education*
- Massachusetts Business Roundtable*
- Massachusetts Competitiveness Partnership*
- Massachusetts Workforce Association*
- South Shore Chamber of Commerce*
- Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce*
- Springfield WORKS
- The Partnership, Inc.*
- Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts*
- Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce*
Workforce Practitioners and Researchers
Asterisk denotes founding member
- Grads of Life*
- Hillcrest Educational Centers
- Jewish Vocational Service Boston (JVS)
- MassHire Central Region Workforce Board
- Muzzy Lane
- Opportunity@Work
- Per Scholas Greater Boston
- Project on Workforce at Harvard*
- SkillWorks (The Boston Foundation)