Printer-Friendly Version

Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.

ETA Press Release: Five States Win Grants to Launch New Occupational Database System [07/05/1996]

For more information call: (202) 219-6871

Five states are receiving grants totaling $836,301 to begin pilot testing a new database system that promises to transform vital labor force information into a user-friendly, workforce development tool, Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich announced.

The states testing the Occupational Information Network, called O*NET, are Texas, South Carolina, Minnesota, California and New York.

"This workforce development tool will help employees, dislocated workers, employers, educators and students quickly and easily find the information they need to make informed decisions about education, training, careers and work," Reich said. "The new system will make it easier for people to find the right jobs and for employers to find the right workers."

O*NET is designed to identify the skills, abilities and requirements needed for jobs across the country. By the 21st century it is expected to be a fully operational, database system that offers timely and reliable occupational information at federal, state and local levels.

"O*NET will supply valid, reliable and up-to-date occupational information that people need to prepare themselves for first, new and better jobs and that America needs to revitalize the nation's workforce," Reich said.

The pilot sites will use O*NET to develop systems, or software applications, that can help match employers and employees, provide information about general and customized education and training programs, describe skill standards for specific occupations and identify job counseling programs or resources.

The O*NET database structure includes information about:

• Worker requirements including basic skills, cross-functional skills, general knowledge and education;

• Worker characteristics such as abilities, interests and work styles;

• Occupational characteristics including labor market information, occupational outlook and wages;

• Occupation-specific information regarding knowledge, skills, tasks and use of machines, tools and equipment;

• Occupational requirements such as generalized work activities, work context and organizational context; and

• Experience requirements including training and licensing.

Information organized in the database provides a common ground for standardized workforce terminology that can be used across all economic sectors. This breakthrough is expected to help integrate learning, training and work activities in ways currently not possible.

The O*NET pilot sites being launched today signal the beginning of a new type of public/private partnership. The goal is a network of organizations, agencies and businesses that work together to make available a state-of-the art selection of occupational information and assessment tools and resources.

O*NET will completely replace the 57-year-old Dictionary of Occupational Titles which currently contains extensive but static information on 12,741 jobs. Last revised in 1991, the dictionary serves as the nation's primary source of workforce information.

The 18-month competitive grants awarded to the five states are:

Editor's Note: More detailed information about the five state grants is attached.

The Texas State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee will build an O*NET application based on an existing system, called RESCUE, which is currently incorporated in the state's one-stop career centers and in the Job Training Partnership Act Rapid Response system to assist dislocated workers. RESCUE is available in all Texas job service offices.

The O*NET database will be used primarily to assist experienced workers who -- due to downsizing, plant closures, layoffs or other factors -- must transfer their skills to other careers or professions. The Texas system also has applications in career exploration, labor market information reporting and dissemination, utilizing skills of military separatees, cross referencing specific occupations, requisite training programs and training institutions, accessing local and regional occupational and labor market information and numerous other applications.

South Carolina will develop and test four principal prototype models of the O*NET content model in the state:

• Registration of both selected job applicants and employer job orders using O*NET occupational units and selected ranked elements of the standardized O*NET information framework that identifies cross-functional and functional job content requirements.

• Matching selected job applicants and job openings through the use of the O*NET occupational units and/or standardized phase descriptors.

• Mapping selected training course descriptive information from the state's technical education system to O*NET's occupational units to help identify training requirements and opportunities for applicants, employers and training providers.

Minnesota Department of Economic Security            $166,143
St. Paul, Minnesota
Contact:  Don Hilber        612-297-3292

The Minnesota Department of Employment Security will establish a
coordinated means to incorporate data on skills associated with
occupations collected from employers through the state's
SkillsNet resume matching system, occupation-skills linking
project, quarterly New Hires Survey, the detailed profiling of
jobs at selected employers, the Minnesota Career Information
System and local skills assessment.  

O*NET will also be integrated into the four ways that
occupational information is delivered in Minnesota: the state's
WorldWide Web page, the Career Information System, the
Occupational Information System and the Workforce Information
System.


California Employment Development Department              $147,654
Sacramento, California
Contact:  Haven Bays        916-564-8221

The California Employment Development Department, in partnership
with the SkillsNet Industry Skills Council, will study and
integrate into the O*NET the rapidly changing skills and
occupational needs in the entertainment and multimedia industries
in California.  As SkillsNet collects data on the skills and
competencies of entertainment and multimedia workers, the O*NET
will serve as a standardized data collection and storage device.
In turn, the O*NET database will be enriched by the information
the project will collect on occupations in these emerging
industries.                                          


New York Department of Labor                         $138,538  
Albany, New York
Contact:  Lew Stein              518-457-2781

The New York State Department of Labor will integrate the O*NET
system into the state's school-to-work system. Schools in five
regions will pilot a career development initiative based on an
enhanced version of O*NET that will provide occupational  
information related to six career majors designated as the
framework for their school-to-work initiative.  

                              # # # 

Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.