"O*NET OnLine in
Transition Assistance Programs at Offutt Air Force Base"
Nebraska Workforce Development,
Department of Labor, LMI Center
Summary
Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska,
provides a comprehensive 5-day Transition Assistance Program (TAP) for
personnel leaving military service. As part of this program, the Nebraska
Workforce Development's Labor Market Information Center presents information
on career exploration, finding employment, and training opportunities in
the civilian job market. Recently they have been using O*NET OnLine to
help TAP participants relate their skills and military experience to appropriate
occupations and to learn about a wider range of career possibilities in
the civilian sector.
How
is O*NET being used?
For more than two years, staff at the Nebraska
Workforce Development's LMI Center have been providing pertinent labor
market information to participants in Offutt Air Force Base's Transition
Assistance Program (TAP). Monthly TAP sessions run for 5 days and include
50-75 participants with a wide range of ages and levels of military experience.
Many will be seeking civilian employment or further education in Nebraska
and other States after they leave military service.
As part of their presentation, LMI Center
staff demonstrate how O*NET OnLine can be used in making the career transition
from military employment to the civilian sector. As a starting point, LMI
Center staff downloaded a Defense Department crosswalk between the Military
Occupational Classification (MOC) and the new Standard Occupational Classification
(SOC). After sorting it by MOC codes and titles, they printed copies, which
TAP participants use to find their military occupation and its related
SOC codes and titles. The LMI presenters then show TAP participants how
to use SOC titles and codes to identify occupations related to their military
experience in O*NET OnLine, which is also SOC-based.
Military personnel can thus tap into the
entire range of O*NET occupational information to explore career possibilities
in the civilian sector. Because the TAP sessions do not have Internet connections,
the LMI staff have developed a Microsoft PowerPoint slide show using O*NET
OnLine screen captures. The show illustrates, step-by-step, how participants
can use O*NET as a job search and career exploration tool, including using
O*NET to obtain language for writing résumés. Most military
personnel have Internet access, either on the job or in Family Support
Centers, libraries, or local One-Stop Offices.
Who
is your target population?
Persons leaving military service and seeking
employment in the civilian sector. TAP program participants include retirees
and individuals separating from the military after completing their term
of service. Their ages range from early 20s and up. Their military experience
varies widely as well.
What
kind of results is O*NET helping you to achieve?
O*NET OnLine helps TAP participants relate
their military job experience and skills to a wide range of occupations
in the civilian sector. Participants learn what kind of information is
in O*NET OnLine and how to find and use it. Once they are familiar with
it, they can use O*NET OnLine as a readily available, long-term resource
in their career development.
What
are the related program initiatives?
O*NET OnLine is only one of many resources
used in the LMI Center's TAP presentation. The presentation provides military
personnel with a comprehensive explanation of available labor market information
and how it can be used in the job search and career planning process. The
presentation draws on Nebraska Explorer, a website that describes and links
to a wide variety of pertinent local, state, and federal resources. The
TAP slide show demonstrates how to use Nebraska Explorer to find the projected
growth and average wages of selected occupations in Nebraska and in other
States. Participants also learn how to use Nebraska Explorer to find links
to salary calculators and comparative cost of living information. The LMI
presentation also provides information on Internet sites where participants
can find job listings, post résumés, and prepare for interviews.
In a conversation with two of the TAP students, one student commented,
"Every day of TAP has answered some of my [job search] questions." The
other student responded, "Every day my stress level has been reduced."
Is
your product, program or service available for others to use?
Copies of the PowerPoint slides used in
the TAP presentation are available from the Nebraska Workforce Development's
LMI Center (address below). The file contains 71 slides; O*NET- specific
slides are numbers 8-18. The MOC-SOC crosswalk can be downloaded from the
Defense Department's website at: http://www.odb.asmr.com/
See What's New for the latest crosswalk information. Nebraska Explorer
is on the Web at:http://www.dol.state.ne.us/explorer/explorer.htm
What
other strategies make your product, program or service successful?
TAP presenters use humor to introduce the
presentation and add a light touch to the very serious business of a career
transition. Their presentation focuses clearly on resources that can help
meet real needs and concerns of a diverse audience. Because many TAP participants
will relocate outside of Nebraska when they leave military service, the
presentation includes resources widely available across the States. Many
participants simply are unaware of these resources or how to find and use
them. The Nebraska Explorer website makes finding them much easier.
Do
you have other pertinent information?
The National O*NET Consortium is working
with the Defense Department to complete a MOC to O*NET 3.0 occupational
crosswalk. The Nebraska Workforce LMI Center also uses O*NET material as
part of its Rapid Response effort with employers.
Contact
information.
Mary Findlay or Jane Sutherland
LMI Center
Nebraska Workforce Development, Nebraska
Dept. of Labor
PO Box 94600
Lincoln, NE 68509-4600
telephone: 402/471-2600
e-mail: mfindlay@dol.state.ne.us
or jsutherland@dol.state.ne.us
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