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O*NET Fundamentals
What Is O*NET? O*NET is a (data collection) program that
populates and maintains a current database of the detailed
characteristics of workers, occupations, and skills. Currently,
O*NET contains information on 974 detailed occupations, which are
gathered from a sample of national surveys of businesses and
workers. For each occupation, O*NET collects data on 250
occupational descriptors. O*NET is intended to be a definitive
source for persistent occupation data, i.e. stable occupations that
have been (and will continue to be) in existence over the medium
term. O*NET superseded the U.S. Department of Labors (DOLs)
Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and provides additional
occupational requirements not available in the DOT. The DOT is no
longer supported by DOL. O*NET uses an occupational taxonomy, the
O*NET-SOC, which is based on the 2010 version of the Standard
Occupational Classification (SOC) mandated by Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for use by all federal agencies collecting
occupational and labor market information (LMI). O*NET is the
bedrock of occupational data. It offers a stable foundation that
contains information on jobs and skills that are not fleeting. In a
phrase, it is the gold standard of data on occupational skills. Why
Use Sampling and Surveys? The primary reason O*NET currently uses
sampling and surveys is that these are the best techniques for
maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of
information prior to dissemination. O*NET uses the OMB Information
Quality Guidelines for all Federal statistical information, which
defines objectivity as a measure of whether disseminated
information is: 1. Accurate 2. Reliable 3. Unbiased 4.
Presented/disseminated in an accurate, clear, complete, and
unbiased manner 5. Subject to extensive review and or quality
control
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What Are Other Foundational Principles of O*NET? O*NET is
designed to be: 1. Comprehensive covering the entire economy; going
across all occupations in the labor market. 2. Consistent each and
every occupation is described consistently in particular to
facilitate analysis of skill transferability. 3. Representative
sampled from across the labor market, the nation, and from
employing industries. 4. User-centered Incumbent workers or
occupational experts as the primary respondents. Why Does O*NET
Only Contain Survey-based Data? Using survey-based data enables
O*NET to have comprehensive coverage, be very representative,
enable the data to be validated and cleaned relatively easily,
enable the statistical calculation of margin of variance or error,
and to meet the OMB data collection requirements. How Is O*NET
Used? O*NET is the common language and framework that facilitates
communication about industry skill needs among business, education,
and the workforce investment system. The O*NET data is used to:
Develop industry competency models and occupational competency
profiles. Conduct skill gap analysis based on information about
transferable skills. Support career exploration by the young, their
parents, job seekers, dislocated workers, workforce professionals,
counselors and teachers. Write skill-based resumes by job seekers,
and skill-based job descriptions and job postings by business.
Implement at least 33 different laws that use O*NET data in tasks
ranging from wage determinations for H 1-B visas to vocational
rehabilitation and disability determination. The O*NET database and
companion O*NET Career Exploration Tools are also used by many
private companies and public organizations to tailor applications
to their needs and those of their customers.
How Do I Access O*NET Data? The O*NET database is provided free
of charge to the public through O*NET OnLine, a Web-based
application at http://www.onetonline.org/. O*NET Data is also
available through the My Next Move, and My Next Move for Veterans
websites; through the O*NET Web Services application programming
interface (API); or by downloading the
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February 2015
database, particularly by developers who provide applications
targeted to specific communities or audiences. How Does O*NET
Collect Its Data? The O*NET data set gets updated once a year.
O*NET uses a 2-stage sample first businesses in industries that
employ the type of worker are sampled and contacted then when it is
confirmed that they employ those workers and will participate a
random sample of their workers in the occupation receive the O*NET
survey form and respond directly. When necessary, this method may
be supplemented with a sample selected from additional sources,
such as professional and trade association membership lists,
resulting in a dual-frame approach. An alternative method, based on
sampling from lists of identified occupation experts, is used for
occupations for which the primary method is inefficient. This
method is reserved for selected occupations, such as those with
small employment scattered among many industries and those for
which no employment data currently exist on which to base a sample,
such as new and emerging occupations. At its current funding level,
O*NET updates slightly more than 100 occupations per year with new
survey data. What Are The Survey Response Rates? Currently, more
than 144,000 establishments and 182,000 employees have responded to
the survey request, resulting in an establishment response rate of
76% and an employee response rate of 65%, which compare favorably
to other establishment surveys.
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Appendix A: Example of an O*NET Occupational Profile
Updated 2010
Details Report for:15-1132.00 - Software Developers,
Applications
Develop, create, and modify general computer applications
software or specialized utility programs. Analyze userneeds and
develop software solutions. Design software or customize software
for client use with the aim ofoptimizing operational efficiency.
May analyze and design databases within an application area,
workingindividually or coordinating database development as part of
a team. May supervise computer programmers.
Sample of reported job titles: Application Integration Engineer,
Applications Developer, Business SystemsAnalyst, Computer
Consultant, Programmer Analyst, Software Architect, Software
Developer, SoftwareDevelopment Engineer, Software Engineer,
Technical Consultant
View report: Summary Details Custom
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities
| Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education |
Credentials | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related
Occupations | Wages & Employment | Job Openings | Additional
Information
Tasks Save Table (XLS/CSV)
Importance Category Task
81 Core Modify existing software to correct errors, allow it to
adapt to new hardware,or to improve its performance.
77 Core Develop and direct software system testing and
validation procedures,programming, and documentation.
75 Core Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and
others to designsystem and to obtain information on project
limitations and capabilities,performance requirements and
interfaces.
73 Core Analyze user needs and software requirements to
determine feasibility ofdesign within time and cost
constraints.
72 Core Design, develop and modify software systems, using
scientific analysis andmathematical models to predict and measure
outcome and consequences ofdesign.
68 Core Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of
system capabilities andrequirements.
67 Core Consult with customers about software system design and
maintenance.
66 Core Supervise the work of programmers, technologists and
technicians and otherengineering and scientific personnel.
65 Core Coordinate software system installation and monitor
equipment functioningto ensure specifications are met.
15-1132.00 - Software Developers, Applications
http://www.onetonline.org/link/details/15-1132.00
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Appendix B: Current O*NET Usage Statistics During 2014, the
O*NET websites (O*NET OnLine, My Next Move, My Next Move for
Veterans, Mi Proximo Paso) averaged over 4 million visits per
month. Fig. 2 shows the total site visits by year from 2002 to
2013.
Fig. 2: Total Site Visits for O*NET web properties There is some
pattern of seasonality that appears to follow the school calendar.
Peak months with over 5 million visits in 2014 were: April,
September, and October. The O*NET database has been downloaded
83,573 times from 2002 to 2014. Fig. 3 shows the database downloads
in each year.
Fig. 3: O*NET Database Downloads, 2002 - 2014 O*NET Web Services
and APIs were introduced in 2012 and their usage is steadily
increasing through 2014. At the close of 2014, there were 343 total
registrants for O*NET Web Services. Fig. 4 shows the progress since
2012.
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Fig. 4: O*NET Web Services Registrants, 2012 - 2014 The
breakdown of the users of O*NET Web Services is detailed in Fig
5.
Fig. 5: Registrant Composition for O*NET Web Services
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Appendix C: Comparison of Occupation Coverage . Comparative
Analysis of Occupation Profile Coverage by Federal Agencies
2010 Census Occupational Outlook Handbook
BLS employment projections 2012-2022
2010 SOC in Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey
O*NET
Employment estimates for 190 SOC occupation and aggregations 334
profiles (covering 580 SOC occupations)
818 SOC occupations 800+ SOC occupations with wage estimates 974
detailed occupations with characteristics and requirements data