[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 96 (Friday, May 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28509-28510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10934]



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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Sixty Days' 
Public Comment; O*NET Data Collection Program, Extension of Currently 
Approved Collection Without Change

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration.

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 (PRA 95) [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 of the O*NET (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 by 
accessing: http://www.doleta.gov/OMBCN/OMBControlNumber.cfm.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addressee's section below on or before July 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Employment and Training 
Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-4231, Washington, 
DC 20210, Attention: Pam Frugoli, Telephone number: 202-693-3643 (this 
is not a toll-free number). Fax: 202-693-3015. E-mail: 
O*[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 marketplace and can be found at http://www.onetcenter.org/database.html. 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 collection of information 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

    Type of Review: Extension.
    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).
    Form: O*NET Data Collection Program.
    Total Respondents: 85,780.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Total Responses: 85,780.
    Average Time Per Response: Employer response time is 70 minutes. 
Incumbent worker response time is 30 minutes. Subject-matter expert 
response time is 2 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 43,857.
    Total Burden Cost: $1,355,266.
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for the Office of Management 
and Budget approval of the information collection request. They will 
also become a matter of public record.


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    Signed: At Washington, DC, this 8th day of May, 2008.
Gay M. Gilbert,
Administrator, Office of Workforce Investment, Employment & Training 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-10934 Filed 5-15-08; 8:45 am]
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