PHILADELPHIA, PA — Phenom is partnering with workforce nonprofit Opportunity@Work to help state governments fill critical vacancies by using artificial intelligence to identify qualified applicants without traditional college degrees, extending skills-based hiring policies into recruitment and employee advancement.
The Philadelphia-based human resources technology company will combine its AI-powered recruitment and workflow systems with Opportunity@Work’s workforce data to help agencies evaluate candidates based on demonstrated skills, experience and certifications rather than educational credentials alone.
The initiative targets a persistent staffing problem in state and local government. A 2026 survey of government human resources leaders found that 89% of their organizations had hired employees during the previous year, although agencies continued struggling to fill positions in public safety, health care, skilled trades and emergency dispatch.
Several states have eliminated degree requirements for certain government positions, expanding eligibility for workers who acquired their skills through employment, military service, apprenticeships or other alternatives to bachelor’s degrees.
Opportunity@Work refers to these workers as STARs, or Skilled Through Alternative Routes.
The partnership is intended to help agencies identify those candidates and move them through existing civil service recruitment systems.
“States that dropped degree requirements collectively gained access to millions more qualified candidates, but they have no way to find them,” said Saumil Gandhi, Phenom’s senior vice president of corporate development.
The companies cited Louisiana as an example of skills-based hiring reforms producing measurable workforce changes. The state recorded a 14% increase in STAR hires, a 7% increase in advancement among those workers and an almost 4% reduction in their attrition after implementing a coordinated statewide approach to hiring and advancement.
Those results preceded the partnership and were not attributed to Phenom’s technology.
Opportunity@Work reported that its network included nearly 600,000 private-sector job postings and 246,129 public-sector openings accessible to STARs in 2025. More than 90,000 workers in its partner network have moved into higher-paying positions since 2022.
Under the partnership, Phenom’s technology will use workforce skills data to recommend government jobs based on applicants’ qualifications and transferable experience.
The system is designed to identify related positions that candidates might otherwise overlook and help recruiters assess applicants whose backgrounds do not follow conventional educational pathways.
Phenom will also provide workflow automation through its WorkOps platform, which coordinates AI agents, recruiters, hiring managers and compliance personnel.
The technology includes integrations with more than 200 applicant tracking and human resources information systems, allowing agencies to incorporate automated screening and recruitment processes into existing infrastructure.
Government oversight is another component of the offering. Phenom said its AI-generated candidate fit scores and recommendations are explainable, configurable and auditable, enabling agencies to examine how applicants were evaluated and adjust criteria according to job requirements.
The system also provides analytics intended to help agencies measure hiring outcomes and document compliance with workforce policies.
“Government agencies have some of the best proof that skills-first hiring works, and STARs are ready to fill roles the moment agencies can see what they can do,” said Byron Auguste, Opportunity@Work’s chief executive officer and co-founder.
The partnership positions Phenom to support public-sector workforce modernization as states seek to translate expanded job eligibility into hiring decisions while maintaining civil service requirements and oversight of automated recruitment systems.
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