Holly and 17A get $1.1 million to map AI-ready state jobs

Holly and 17A have won a $1.1 million grant for an 18-month Oklahoma and Virginia project that starts before a vacancy reaches a job board: redesigning government roles, skills and classifications for work reshaped by AI, according to Holly’s Oct. 22 announcement.

The project is funded by the Public Benefit Innovation Fund, part of the Center for Civic Futures, and the Recoding America Fund. It will serve the central IT organization within Oklahoma’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services and Virginia’s Department of Administration, which oversees IT, HR and other state management functions.

The work will not involve screening resumes or making hiring decisions, The Journal Record reported. Instead, 17A will examine what government jobs should look like over the next two, five and 10 years and develop a staffing plan to address the gap.

Under the partners’ plan, Holly, a government workforce software provider, will lead technology and data analysis. Government consulting and technology firm 17A will handle organizational design, a new skills taxonomy and transition planning. Leadership and staff will participate throughout, Holly said. The announcement frames the task as preparing for future staffing needs within civil-service rules and bargaining agreements.

The partners also plan to build VOKA, an open-source tool that compares state job classifications with a public library of future workforce skills. They intend to publish their methodology, guidance, templates and evaluation criteria so other states can review their own roles without contracting with either firm.