How Hennepin County leaders removed barriers and built a more diverse workforce

Yaneth Quintero Cruz never had paid time off until she started working for the Hennepin County Assessor’s Office.

“It’s something I’m so grateful for,” said Quintero Cruz, who previously worked in food service and sometimes struggled to balance her schedule and care for her younger sister.

“I feel like I have flexibility now. It has been so helpful,” she said. “The work-life balance here at the county is amazing.”

Quintero Cruz is one of 400 people Hennepin County has hired in the last decade from its Pathways program — a decade-old workforce development effort that aims to boost county residents’ skills and connect them with stable, good-paying careers.

“It’s about us doing the right thing and providing opportunities to folks,” said County Administrator David Hough, who helped launch the Pathways program.

It’s also about fulfilling an important goal for county leaders — reducing some of the state’s most troubling racial disparities in areas like education, homeownership and income. More than 60% of Pathways graduates who went on to county jobs are people of color, which has helped make the workforce better reflect the people it serves.

County Board Chair Irene Fernando said the program grew out of the understanding that there were plenty of residents capable of working for the county if some of the more arbitrary requirements and barriers were removed.

“As an employer, we developed this program to ensure people from all backgrounds and education levels can be trained and equipped to enter professions at the county,” Fernando said.

The county partners with local community colleges and institutions like the Project for Pride in Living, a career-readiness and affordable housing nonprofit, to provide skills training for careers like office specialist, human services worker or building technician.

After a prospective employee completes the training, which can range from two to nine months, they’re eligible for internships and jobs with the county or other participating employers. Hennepin County’s entry-level wage is $21.50 an hour, or nearly $45,000 annually for full-timers, plus benefits.

A county job was appealing for Wided Issaoui, an Eagan resident who wanted to rejoin the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom. She saw a number of Hennepin County jobs listings mentioned the Pathways office specialist training, and thought it would be a good way to brush up on her skills and land a government job.

“The greatest thing about it was the networking it provided and the coaching for interviews,” Issaoui said. “It opens many doors and gets you exposure to employers.”

To make the Pathways program work, a decade ago county officials decided to rethink minimum requirements that were barriers for many prospective workers. They eliminated the bachelor’s degree requirement for many of the county’s 400 job classifications.

Officials say it doesn’t appear to have had an impact on performance. More than 90% of Pathways hires stay with the county for more than a year and almost 40% have been promoted.

Other government leaders have noticed. Last year, Gov. Tim Walz eliminated the bachelor’s degree requirement for most jobs as the state looks to fill thousands of positions.

Antonio Cardona, vice president of career readiness at Project for Pride in Living, said more employers need to be more flexible and creative when it comes to finding workers in competitive job markets.

“Workforce development organizations are critical partners in this moment, especially in a state where it is so difficult to find staff,” Cardona said. “As Minnesota’s population shifts, the vast majority of incoming workers are going to come from communities of color and from communities in that low- to moderate-income level.”

Administrator Hough says the Pathways program is an example of how the government can help residents who might be struggling into jobs that provide a more sustainable life. He points out that about a third of Hennepin County’s 1.3 million residents receive some sort of public aid.

“When you do something like this, you can move them off of public programs, the self-esteem and self-sufficiency you create are huge benefits to them,” Hough said. “The program pays for itself in a relatively short period of time.”

County officials say Pathways is baked into their hiring and recruiting efforts so it’s hard to stipulate the cost of the program year to year. They estimate the training for an office specialist runs about $3,000, while a more intensive training for human services employees could be as much as $6,500.

Broadening the pool of people who can work for Hennepin County is about more than just workforce development. It can also make county services better and more efficient.

Joshua Hoogland, the Hennepin County assessor, hired 14 people through the Pathways program as a way to provide better service to residents. A key attribute workers like Quintero Cruz and Issaoui bring to the office is their ability to speak multiple languages.

That can be a big help for clients who are struggling to understand topics like property assessments or homestead exemptions.

“It has given me a sense of making a difference in the community,” said Quintero Cruz, who was one of the first Spanish speakers on her team.