[Federal Register: June 3, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 106)]
[Notices]
[Page 32656-32658]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03jn05-136]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment And Training Administration
Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public
Comment; O*NET[reg] Data Collection Program
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA95), 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A). This program helps to
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format,
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Employment and Training Administration is soliciting
comments concerning the proposed extension collection of the O*NET[reg]
(Occupational Information Network) Data Collection Program. A copy of
the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by
contacting the office listed below in the addressee section of this
notice or can be downloaded from the Internet at: http://www.onetcenter.org/ombclearance.html
.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addressee section below on or before August 2, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the O*NET Data Collection Program to
Pam Frugoli, Skill Assessment Team Lead, Office of Workforce
Investment, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-4231, Washington, DC 20210.
The telephone number is 202-693-3643. (this is not a toll-free number).
Comments may also be submitted via e-mail to: O-NET@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The O*NET Data Collection Program is a continuing effort to collect
and maintain current information on detailed characteristics of
occupations and skills for over 800 occupations. The resulting database
is and will continue to be the most comprehensive standard source of
occupational and skills information in the nation. O*NET information is
used by a wide range of audiences, from individuals making career
decisions, to public agencies and schools providing career exploration
services and planning workforce investment programs, to businesses
making staffing and training decisions. The O*NET system provides a
common language, framework and database to meet the administrative
needs of various federal programs, including workforce investment and
training programs of the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health
and Human Services.
Section 309 of the Workforce Investment Act requires the Secretary
of Labor to oversee the ``development, maintenance, and continuous
improvement of a nationwide employment statistics system'' which shall
include, among other components, ``skill trends by occupation and
industry.'' The States are to develop similar statewide employment
statistics systems.
The O*NET Data Collection Program is the primary vehicle for
collecting skills and occupational information across all occupations
nationwide. The continued population and completion of the entire O*NET
database is a critical component of the nationwide labor market
information system to support employer, workforce, and education
information needs.
O*NET succeeds the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and is a
powerful tool for various critical federal and state workforce
investment functions. O*NET integrates a powerful relational database
and a common language for occupational and skill descriptions into a
value-added tool for business, job seekers, and the workforce
investment professionals who help bring them together. By providing
information organized according to the O*NET Content Model, the O*NET
database is an important tool for keeping up with today's rapidly
changing world of work. The O*NET database provides:
Detailed information for more than 800 occupations.
Descriptive information on standardized descriptors of
skills, abilities, interests, knowledge, work values, education,
training, work context, and work activities.
Occupational coding based on the 2000 Standard
Occupational Classification (SOC).
The O*NET electronic database serves as the underpinning for
hundreds of publicly and privately developed products and resources in
the
[[Page 32657]]
marketplace and can be found at http://online.onetcenter.org. These
products and resources are being used to serve millions of customers.
II. Review Focus
The Department of Labor is particularly interested in comments
which:
evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
III. Current Actions
The O*NET Data Collection Program established the foundation for
occupational and skills data collection using collection methods
designed to obtain high quality and current data. The DOL is seeking
Office of Management and Budget approval for a three-year continuation
to complete the population of the O*NET database with data from workers
and some subject matter experts sampled in this survey. This request
for extension will provide for the completion of the data collection
for the remaining occupations currently on schedule for collection
during the extension period, new data for high growth/high priority
occupations for which data were previously collected, and for data
collection activities needed for approximately 35 new and emerging
occupations.
Customers using O*NET are expanding quickly as more private and
public developers integrate O*NET information into their products. Use
of O*NET data and products continue to increase as shown through
increases in product downloads and site visits. The consequence of not
continuing the O*NET Data Collection Program limits the occupational
information options of American citizens and businesses. The millions
of users who utilize O*NET information to make important life,
business, and policy decisions will have to make these decisions using
information that is not current, is incomplete, and is of questionable
validity and reliability. Users will not have the benefit of practical
results from the publicly funded research that has led to the O*NET
system. Updating the O*NET database is crucial to providing business,
job seekers, students, educators, and counselors with the most up-to-
date information about occupations and occupational requirements.
Furthermore, with on-going data collection, the O*NET Data Collection
Program is capable of capturing information on important emerging
technologies needed to ensure that United States stays competitive in
the global market place.
Currently, the O*NET Data Collection Program has published data for
over 280 occupations and will complete the data collection effort for
the remaining occupations and emerging occupations by 2008. The
database is updated twice annually. The next update with approximately
100 new occupations will be in the summer of 2005. The O*NET
occupations either match to, or represent more detailed breakouts of,
occupations from the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification.
A multiple-method collection approach for populating the O*NET
database has been developed to ensure the completion of all
occupations. There are three different data collection methodologies or
protocols: the Establishment data collection method, the Association
method and the Occupation Expert (OE) method. The primary data
collection method used to update the O*NET database is the
Establishment data collection method; a survey of establishments and
workers within those establishments. The Establishment data collection
method uses a two-stage design that includes a statistical sample of
establishments expected to employ workers in each specific occupation
and a sample of workers in the occupations within each sampled
establishment. The sampled workers are asked to complete the survey
questionnaires. Four domain questionnaires are used to collect data
from sampled workers: (1) Skills, (2) Generalized Work Activities,
which are general types of job behaviors occurring on multiple jobs,
(3) Work Context, the physical and social factors that influence the
nature of work, and (4) Knowledge, which includes Education and
Training and Work Styles. (Copies of these questionnaires are also
available from the following Internet site: http://www.onetcenter.org/ombclearance.html
). Workers are only asked to complete one of the
survey questionnaires. Workers are also asked to provide basic
demographic information and to complete a brief task inventory for
their specific occupations. At the end of September 2004, the
Establishment data collection method experienced a 70% participation
response rate for establishments and a 64% participation response rate
for employees.
Data for a fifth domain, Abilities, are provided by trained
analysts.
The name of incumbent respondents is not requested on the survey
form and all individual responses will be maintained in strict
confidentiality. The data from job incumbents and others will be used
to develop mean ratings on the various items.
In addition to the Establishment data collection method, two
alternative data collection methods, the Occupation Expert (OE) method
and the Association method, are utilized for selected occupations.
Typically these methods are used for occupations with small employment
size, for occupations in which employees work in remote locations, for
occupations for which no employment data exists from which to sample,
and emerging occupations. In the OE method, occupation experts are
identified and asked to complete the four domain questionnaires, the
demographic items, and the task inventory for the specific occupation
being surveyed. In the Association method, incumbents are sampled from
member rosters of professional associations that include a significant
portion of the occupation's workers in their membership.
The resulting data from all three methods are subjected to
extensive analysis and are made available to the public through
scheduled updates to the O*NET database. Please see the Web site at
http://online.onetcenter.org for additional information.
The projected average annual burden for the subsequent three years
is less than the FY2003-2005 annual averages. In addition, the
distribution of burden for establishments and employees is different.
The establishment burden is expected to decrease and the employee
burden is expected to increase in the subsequent three years. Past
experience has shown that fewer participating establishments are
required than previously projected and that more employees in
participating establishments are needed. In addition, data will be
collected for fewer occupations than in the previous year's OMB
submission as many of the occupations yet to be populated are already
in the data collection process.
Type of Review: Extension.
[[Page 32658]]
Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
Title: O*NET Data Collection Program.
OMB Number: 1205-0421.
Affected Public: Business/Employers (includes private and not-for-
profit businesses and government); individuals (incumbent workers,
subject matter experts).
Total Respondents: 92,373 (FY06).
Frequency of Response: Annual.
Total Responses: 92,373 (FY06).
Average Time Per Response: Employer response time is 70 minutes.
Incumbent workers response time is 30 minutes. Subject matter expert
response time is 2 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 28,959 hours.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and
Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also
become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 27th day of May, 2005.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. E5-2851 Filed 6-2-05; 8:45 am]
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