O*NET In Action:  California

"Helping Dislocated Workers Find Jobs" State of California Employment Development Department (CAEDD) Summary Workers at Boeing's Monrovia, California plant faced mass layoffs as Boeing prepared to close the plant in response to changing business needs. Management and workers teamed with the California Employment Development Department (CAEDD) to identify workers' skills and match those skills with available jobs. Here's what happened:   CAEDD staff used O*NET's Skills Survey to interview workers and identify the skills workers used in their jobs.   CAEDD staff also briefed Boeing employees on O*NET and its use.   CAEDD staff used the worker skill surveys, the O*NET database, and state and local labor market information to produce a report specifically tailored to Boeing's Monrovia employees.   The report, entitled Skills Match: Use Your Boeing Skills to Land a New Job, was provided to all Boeing Monrovia workers. O*NET was essential to producing the Skills Match report. O*NET provided the occupational profiles that allowed Boeing workers to see what kinds of jobs they would qualify for and to start thinking about jobs outside of aircraft manufacturing that matched their skills sets. CAEDD plans to use the Skills Match reports for all clients, not just for those facing mass lay off. In addition, the Sacramento SDA (Service Delivery Area) plans to give the AFB reports to others in their service area who have occupations similar to those from the base. CAEDD will follow-up on a sample of these to see if the intervention works.   How is O*NET being used? O*NET's data collection instruments were used first; then, the O*NET viewer and profile/detail reports were used to prepare the Skills Match report for workers.   Who is your target population? The immediate target audience for this project was workers facing dislocation at Boeing's Monrovia plant. However, the model used is replicable in other States and localities and in different dislocated worker situations. The model is being used in other Boeing plants and at the McClellan Air Force Base in California.   What kind of results is O*NET helping you to achieve? This project expanded services to dislocated workers by creating a new model for use in mass layoff situations. This project also saved time for workers. Forty percent of those targeted for layoff were able to locate jobs in other Boeing plants within 3 months of the beginning of the project (March - June 1998). This project helped place 385 Boeing workers in jobs at other Boeing facilities before they were laid off. Although other staff faced lay off through a reduction in force, they approached the job search well-armed with information about their skills, and how those skills transfer to other occupations.   What are the related program initiatives? Workforce Investment Act and dislocated workers.   Is your product, program or service available for others to use? Copies of Skills Match are available from CAEDD, Labor Market Information Division, 7000 Franklin Blvd., Bldg. 1100, Sacramento, CA 95823 phone: 916-262-2368 An automated version is currently being developed for integration into the One Stop system for use by other companies facing layoffs.   What other strategies make your product, program or service successful? Others may want to consider these lessons learned when implementing a dislocated worker assistance program: Employer/management support for assistance activity is critical for success, as is support of local labor unions, if present. Open lines of communication are needed with the targeted displaced worker population. O*NET training is needed. While O*NET was available at the factory for workers to use themselves, they were not taught how to use it or how it could help them. Other pertinent information. O*NET training is needed. While O*NET was available at the factory for workers to use themselves, they were not taught how to use it or how it could help them. The Boeing Skills Match model was featured in an O*NET/WIA Workshop at JETTCON 99.   Contact information. Janet Peters, Manager, Occupational Research Unit State of California, Employment Development Department (EDD) Labor Market Information Division 7000 Franklin Blvd., Bldg. 1100 Sacramento, CA 95823 Phone: 916-262-2368 Fax: 916-262-2352 Email: lmid.jpeters@edd.ca.gov

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