"Rapid Response Effort
Taps O*NET Skills
To Help Dislocated Workers"
Nebraska Workforce Development
Summary
State workforce development agencies offer
Rapid Response assistance to alleviate upheavals and dislocation caused
by major plant closings or layoffs. The assistance varies according to
the nature and size of the business and number of workers affected by its
downsizing or closing. In Nebraska, the Department of Labor's Office of
Workforce Services is the designated Dislocated Worker Unit. It coordinates
Rapid Response assistance with employers and agencies that offer help to
dislocated workers.
Nebraska Workforce Development Rapid Response
taps the O*NET system to provide customized job search assistance. Rapid
Response and LMI Center staff use O*NET skills, abilities and knowledge
associated with affected workers' occupations to help individuals identify
and describe their experience and skills. The team also uses O*NET to identify
a broad range of related occupations workers might consider for future
employment.
How
is O*NET being used?
When the Nebraska Dislocated Worker Unit
learns of a plant closing, the LMI Center joins other agencies in providing
assistance. It offers customized career exploration and job search assistance
using the O*NET system in conjunction with State Occupational Employment
Statistics (OES) Survey data. Both O*NET OnLine and OES are based on the
new Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).
To prepare for a Rapid Response program,
the LMI Center staff use OES Survey data to identify occupational staffing
patterns for the type of business to be served. Next they relate the OES
job titles and codes to O*NET occupations and obtain the list of knowledge,
skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with each job in O*NET. The O*NET
KSAs are used to help affected workers identify and describe their work-related
skills and experience in preparing résumés and job applications.
In addition, Rapid Response and the LMI
Center staff do specific skills searches of the O*NET database to identify
other occupations that require the same or similar sets of skills. This
opens up a wider range of occupational possibilities for the affected workers.
Using OES data, staff members assemble both wage and employment outlook
information for these related occupations. These customized materials are
given to participants in the Rapid Response workshops. Information about
training available to dislocated workers also is presented in Rapid Response
sessions. Workers are shown how they can use O*NET to assess whether a
particular type of training would help them qualify for new career possibilities.
In some cases, the workshop timetable allows
for participants to use O*NET OnLine and other Internet resources for individual
queries after the formal session ends. Workers are also referred to their
local employment services or One-Stop Centers for further individual assistance.
Who
is your target population?
Employees in businesses that are closing
down, relocating to a different geographical area, or undergoing major
layoffs.
What
kind of results is O*NET helping you to achieve?
The O*NET KSAs help workers understand
the skills they have acquired in their current jobs and how to describe
them in seeking new employment. It gives them both insight and terminology
for preparing job applications and résumés. The KSAs also
enable workers to identify a wider range of occupations related to their
skills and experience. This may open up new employment and career possibilities.
Workers can then use O*NET and OES information to learn more about these
new possibilities. They can also use O*NET to determine what additional
training they may need and to assess whether a specific kind of training
would be appropriate.
What
are the related program initiatives?
State Rapid Response assistance extends
to many other services for dislocated workers, offered by various State
and local agencies. The Nebraska Dislocated Worker Unit coordinates the
effort. The LMI Center draws on the OES program to prepare its presentations.
Is
your product, program or service available for others to use?
The Nebraska Rapid Response programs are
customized to suit a particular establishment's personnel and logistical
needs. However, many of the handouts they use are printed from pertinent
sections of O*NET OnLine.
What
other strategies make your product, program or service successful?
Tailoring materials and presentations to
a particular establishment's workforce is very important to the success
of a program. Access to OES Survey information about the type of affected
firms is critical in targeting the skills of workers in need of immediate
employment assistance and customizing the Rapid Response materials. OES
data are also used to help workers evaluate potential career opportunities
in new or related fields. One of the program's strengths is its use of
multiple resources within the OES and O*NET systems to meet specific client
needs.
Other
pertinent information.
Nebraska Workforce Development's LMI Center
also uses O*NET OnLine in workshops for the Transition Assistance Program
at Offutt Air Force Base. Alabama and California have also used O*NET data
in programs to help dislocated workers (see related O*NET in Action stories).
Contact
information.
Kris Howe
Rapid Response
Nebraska Workforce Development, Nebraska
Dept. of Labor
PO Box 94600
Lincoln, NE 68509-4600
telephone: 402/471-9878
e-mail: khowe@dol.state.ne.us
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