[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 106 (Friday, June 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32656-32658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-2851]


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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: [email protected].

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]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P