Recent
projects
Project:
Development of the O*NET Job Information System for the U.S. Department
of Labor
Client:
Utah Department of Employment Security
Problem
The
Department of Labor needed a new occupational information and classification
system to replace the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).
The new system was envisioned as an electronic database or set of
interrelated databases that would allow a variety of users to take
maximum advantage of occupational information.
Approach
AIR,
along with five other research organizations, worked with the State
of Utah Department of Employment Security and the U. S. Department
of Labor to develop and evaluate a prototype system that was
both comprehensive and efficient.
A large amount of the project's resources were devoted to further development of a content model developed by the Department's Advisory Panel on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. This effort included further theoretical and empirical work on the distinct domains of job descriptors and the particular variables within each of the domains.
The project staff was organized into four teams, corresponding to the major components of the project.
The Content Model Team was responsible for developing definitions and measures of the job descriptors that go into the system and for analyses of the data collected using those descriptors.
The Database Team was responsible for designing and developing the electronic database and user interfaces, as well as for formal evaluation of the completed prototype.
The Training Team was responsible for preparing the Occupational Analysts, employed in five regional Occupational Analysis Field Centers, to use and maintain the database in the future.
The Data Collection Team was responsible for the selection of the occupational sample and collection of data on that sample.
Results
As
a result of this work the Department of Labor has a prototype system
allowing users to take maximum advantage of occupational information.
This system has served as the basis for identifying organizational
structures that make optimal use of human resource capabilities in
meeting organizational requirements.
