O*NET
in Action: Utah
"Helping People Take Charge of Their
Careers"
Utah Choices
Summary
Utah Choices, the State’s career
information delivery system (CIDS), helps students and workers take charge
of their careers. Like other state CIDS, the Utah system allows its users
to identify occupations that appeal to their particular interests and needs.
The system also provides information about the education, experience and
skills these occupations require.
The O*NET® database is a key
source of occupational information in the Utah CIDS. The occupations in
the system are compatible with O*NET 3.0 occupations, and O*NET is the
basic source of information regarding:
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Description/Typical Tasks
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Basic Skills
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General Workplace Skills (Cross-Functional
Skills)
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Physical Abilities
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Personality Types
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Work Values
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Work Conditions
Utah CIDS users can employ its Search
feature to sort occupations using these O*NET topics and factors as criteria.
Users select the skills, work values or conditions that are important to
them, for example, and search for occupations that meet their criteria.
The results are based on O*NET occupational attributes. Users can also
ask for a Report, which they can view on their computer screen or print.
It includes basic information about a particular occupation. They can select
the items they want in the report, or they can choose the full (default)
report.
The Utah CIDS is available to students
at virtually every public high school, as well as many postsecondary schools.
Other users include adults in career transition being served by Utah’s
Employment Centers (One-Stops) and clients of the Division of Rehabilitation.
How is O*NET being used?
O*NET information supports four major
activities within the Utah CIDS:
1. The assessment options now include
the new O*NET Interest Profiler and the O*NET Work Importance Locator,
giving users the opportunity to better understand their interests (as expressed
in terms compatible with Holland codes*) and their work values. Completing
these computer-administered assessments offers users immediate feedback
as the scoring is done automatically, and they can immediately link to
occupations that match their results.
2. The occupation report includes
O*NET information on the topics listed above in a user-friendly, understandable
format. Reports are available for every civilian occupation in O*NET. They
quickly acquaint users with characteristics of a selected occupation.
3. The occupations search enables
users to define criteria by which the list of occupations will be sorted.
O*NET information has greatly enhanced the ability of users to accomplish
a skills-based occupations search. Users can identify all the occupations
that meet their Basic Skills, General Workplace Skills, and Physical Abilities
needs (as defined in O*NET), as well as other factors, such as Transferable
Work Content Skills and Aptitudes.
4. The Planner/Portfolio component
allows users to document the development of their basic and employability
skills and build skills-based résumés. O*NET skills information
has enhanced this feature of the Utah CIDS.
* The O*NET Interest Profiler was
designed to be compatible with J. L. Holland’s R-I-A-S-E-C constructs,
a widely accepted approach to vocational choice. According to this
theory, most individuals can be described by one or more of six vocational
personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising,
and Conventional (frequently summarized as R-I-A-S-E-C). [See Holland,
J.L. (1985). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities
and work environments (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall.]
Who is your target population?
Target populations of the Utah CIDS
include high school students and adults in career transition being served
by the Utah Department of Workforce Services, Vocational Rehabilitation,
and postsecondary schools. The system is available at more than 200 sites
throughout the State.
What kind of results is O*NET
helping you to achieve?
The Utah CIDS, enhanced by information
from O*NET, helps students and workers take charge of their own careers.
Knowledge of worker requirements and characteristics of occupations is
within easy access of most students, as well as adults seeking employment
or further education. Learning about occupations, related training opportunities,
and potential sources of financial aid gives individuals the critical information
they need to develop and execute their own career plans.
What are the related program initiatives?
Utah’s Comprehensive Counseling and
Guidance program, funded by the State legislature, mandates the development
of an individual Student Education Occupation Plan (SEOP). The Utah CIDS
is an important tool, used by students, parents and educators to ensure
that their plans are developed on a solid foundation of quality career
information. In addition, the CIDS is perceived as an important counseling
and self-service tool for customers being served by the Workforce Investment
Act.
Is your product, program or service
available for others to use?
The Utah CIDS is based on Choices,
one of several proprietary career information delivery systems available
nationwide. Some of these national proprietary systems have been adopted
and customized for a state or local area. The adopting state or area enhances
and updates the system with state, regional and/or local information, tailors
it to the target audience, and then makes the system available to schools,
libraries, One-Stop Career Centers, and/or other facilities serving youth
and adults. Some states have developed their own systems. Some now make
part or all of their system available over the Internet.
Today statewide CIDS serve millions
of individuals across the United States. Many of the major developers are
in the process of integrating O*NET into their systems or have already
done so. For specific information about the Utah system, see the contacts
below. To identify the statewide CIDS for your state or to obtain general
information about CIDS and standards for their development and content,
visit the Association of Computer-Based Systems for Career Information
(ACSCI) website at: http://www.acsci.org.
What other strategies make your
product, program or service successful?
Many strategies make Utah’s CIDS
successful. Among the most important are:
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a high level of coordination among State
agencies and schools;
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a commitment to CIDS user support, including
customized training;
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financial support of licensed sites,
their districts or agencies, and the State; and
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federal funding to support CIDS activities.
Contact
Kristine Dobson
Utah’s Career Information Delivery
System
P.O. Box 350
Paradise, UT 84328
phone: 1/800-733-7887
fax: 435-245-0725
e-mail: UTChoices@aol.com
Dr. Lynn Jensen
Utah Career Resource Network
c/o Davis Applied Technology College
550 East 300 South
Kaysville, UT 84037
phone: 801-593-2599
fax: 801-593-2400
e-mail: ljensen@datc.tec.ut.us
O*NET in Action stories illustrate
how the O*NET database is used at the state or local level. References
to particular products, programs or systems are not intended as an endorsement
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
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