By Chicago Times Magazine –

July 2, 2025

Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order (No. 2025-3), establishing a framework for skills-based hiring within municipal employment. This order follows an ordinance passed by the Chicago City Council on May 21, 2025.

The executive order cites the diverse work experiences of Chicago’s population, noting that over half of the city’s workers do not possess a bachelor’s degree. These individuals, it states, have acquired skills through community college programs, apprenticeships, bootcamps, and on-the-job experience. The order posits that such training equips individuals for careers.

The order indicates that in various industries, skills and work experience can be as valuable as a college degree. It identifies the absence of a college degree as a potential barrier to employment for positions that do not necessitate one. The document also suggests that work experience can indicate a candidate’s potential for effective performance.

The order asserts that college degree requirements can exclude populations from jobs for which they are otherwise qualified, citing data indicating that 61% of veterans and 66% of rural workers are screened out by such requirements. It further states that job listings lacking clear qualification pathways for candidates without formal degrees can act as employment barriers.

The City of Chicago anticipates that supporting skills-based hiring will broaden talent pools, aiming to enhance the city’s capacity to deliver services to residents and visitors. The preceding ordinance, passed on May 21, 2025, authorizes the Commissioner of Human Resources to consider relevant work experience as equivalent to a college degree when deemed appropriate.