THE JOBS FOR THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW SYSTEM:
A WEB-BASED DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING TOOL FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Beth Walter Honadle

Professor of Political Science and Affiliated Faculty, School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati

Under my administration the government will give free correspondence courses,  so that people who can't find jobs in their own line will soon be without jobs in  three or four different types of work.

— Gracie Allen,1940, from Unemployment and Where to Get It
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Executive Summary
While humorous, the epigram above makes a very serious point related to workforce development: Publicly funded training and education programs should give workers skills for jobs that are in demand. This means that policymakers should be interested in ensuring that employers know about training programs that will meet their needs for skilled workers; likewise, training and educational providers need to know where to focus their resources in developing programs that will help their participants obtain employment.  In areas where economic restructuring is causing major dislocations of workers, there is a special interest in having information about employment opportunities available in the area to retrain workers for positions that are comparable to the ones that have been lost. Thus, there is an ongoing need for a systematic approach to collecting and presenting data about job vacancies and educational and training opportunities. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The purpose of this article is to present an information system designed and developed by university researchers for a three-county workforce investment board^[1]. The purpose of the system and data is to help Workforce One Investment Board of Southwest Ohio (serving Butler, Warren, and Clermont Counties in Ohio) make informed, proactive decisions about the investment of resources through a Web-based tool that offers current information about layoffs, job vacancies, and training and educational resources available in the region.  

The benefit for workforce development and E.D. planning of this system is that it makes possible an extensive, comprehensive, and current analysis of the labor market, including available educational and training resources. By targeting economic dislocations, including potential layoffs and plant closings, the tool provides a Web-based workforce development training support “intelligence” system that coordinates knowledge about vacancies with resources for training and retraining. In other words, the benefits of this type of system is that it allows employers to continuously update information about planned vacancies, which training and education providers can use to plan their offerings. The system is beneficial for workforce development professionals by identifying the characteristics of the workers who will soon be seeking re-employment. The system also benefits policymakers by giving them information for targeting assistance to meet anticipated areas of unemployment.  

Figure 1 is a map of the study area, which included counties in southwestern Ohio, northern Kentucky, and southeastern Indiana. The system features powerful capabilities for organizing data and generating reports that the user chooses via a user-friendly interface that allows workforce development professionals to access specific data that suit their needs.  The system has broad application in regional E.D. because it addresses the supply of training and the demand for workers and the characteristics of workers who will soon be looking for work. 

It is based on a research project conducted in 2007-2008 for Workforce One of Southwest Ohio by researchers at the University of Cincinnati.  The funds were made available to Workforce One from the state of Ohio with resources obtained from the Federal government because of massive layoffs in the automotive industry.  While the impetus for the project was related to declines in the domestic auto industry, the information gained from the project is not exclusively relevant to that particular sector of the economy.  

Figure 1. Map of study area

The Workforce One Investment Board of Southwest Ohio sponsored a vacancy analysis of the southwestern Ohio (Greater Cincinnati) area, including available training and education resources. The University of Cincinnati Institute for Policy Research (IPR) designed, administered, and analyzed surveys completed by employers and education and training providers in southwestern Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. The IPR surveyed businesses regarding job vacancies and job eliminations and training and education providers regarding training programs in the study region. 

The purpose of our research was to help businesses, workforce education and training providers, policy makers, and the general public understand the workforce development needs of the designated region.  The focus of this article is on the employer surveys.  The IPR reviewed previous surveys in designing the survey instruments we used to collect data.^[2] 

Methodology

The data collection was done in two phases. Phase I was conducted in November and December of 2007 and those data were used to populate JETS (the Jobs for the Economy of Tomorrow System) and formed the basis of two analytical reports. The sole purpose of Phase II (March 11 to May 31, of 2008) was to increase the number of responses (add to responses from Phase I) to further populate JETS. 

For Phase I and Phase II combined, the total number of survey completions for employers was 678. Table 1 provides a summary of the survey totals and totals by company size. (Education and training providers were also surveyed, but those tallies are not discussed here, since the focus is on the employer surveys.) 

Table 1. Completed surveys by survey phase and company size

Company Size	Phase I	Phase II	Total
1-49 Employees;	163	127	290
50-99 Employees	82	63	145
100 or more Employees	89	87	176
Unknown	32	35	67
Total	366	312	678

Sample output from the JETS system

Readers should keep in mind that the results of the survey are not statistically significant. However, a user of the Jobs for the Economy of Tomorrow System (JETS) is able to generate user-driven reports. We will illustrate the utility of the JETS system with a few examples.

Establishment profile. The first demonstration shows how a user could generate a report using the data for all industries and all occupations in Clermont County, Ohio. Among the data this report provides are the number of establishments who responded to the survey, how many vacancies they had, and the top three positions in level of turnover. It also provides details on the skills needed for these positions and about how hiring and recruitment are being done. Finally, the report shows the top three areas for growth in employment. This type of information would be useful for training and education providers and for workforce development policymakers and professionals to assist them with their planning and program development. Click here for the sample of establishment profile.

Vacancy profile. The second illustration is a report that focused on accountants in all industries in Hamilton County, Ohio in companies with 500 or fewer employees. This report shows accountants to be in high demand with sixty percent of the employers constantly recruiting for this occupation. Not surprisingly, our report shows that employers seek a high level of education and experience in filling these positions. This report also provides data on compensation and benefits, useful information for recruiters to have in their competition to attract qualified workers. Click here for the sample of vacancy profile.

Elimination profile. The third example of how JETS works is an elimination profile for Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Montgomery, Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn, and Franklin Counties in Indiana for all occupations in all industries and for all sizes of companies. It shows a large majority of the 268 reported positions (59 percent) that are going to be eliminated required at least a bachelors degree, the mediation compensation paid is $70,000 and that most of the positions being eliminated were providing benefits (e.g., 88 percent were offering health care). What this tells us is that a lot of good jobs are being lost and that highly educated people who have been receiving high salaries and benefits will be seeking re-employment. Click here for the sample of elimination profile.

Summary and conclusions

The study helped the client meet one of its primary objectives. According to Jeff Weber, Workforce One Investment Board Executive Director, “While the region continues to experience job eliminations in the automobile industry, the study results may indicate a gap between existing training and educational resources available locally and those resources that are needed to provide training for displaced auto workers.”^[3] This project resulted in the development of a system that produces customized reports. JETS is a platform for future data collection from employers and education and training providers. The system was designed for use by the staff of the Workforce One Investment Board of Southwest Ohio. The system is being maintained by Workforce One, which is seeking additional federal funding to continue populating the system with current data. Meanwhile, the county where JETS resides (Butler County, Ohio) is maintaining the system's viability for its use in the future.

For others wishing to replicate or adapt the work presented here, they should understand some of the potential challenges they will face. First, conducting surveys is costly. One cannot assume – as the funders of the project had initially hoped – that respondents would automatically continue to populate the system voluntarily with new data. Completing surveys is time-consuming, entails costs, and may be perceived as having associated risks. As researchers, we had to remind subjects that their responding to the surveys was voluntary and that they had some potential risk by divulging certain information. As researchers, we had been skeptical from the outset that companies would be willing to share information about planned layoffs. However, it is more feasible that companies will provide information about the kinds of openings they have, skills required, and so forth. This is because the companies are more likely to see the benefits to them of having this kind of data available. 

The JETS system development initially began to address workforce issues related to the closure of a Ford manufacturing plant in southwestern Ohio and was funded with a grant through the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. The grant funding was intended to be awarded in multiple phases, to allow for the development of a system, and then to fund the operation of the system.

Unfortunately, a budget crisis at the state level eliminated the second phase of funding and for the time being, the JETS system is not operational. Workforce systems in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky have applied for federal funds to revive the JETS system, however no final decision on the funding has been made by the Department of Labor. 

If funding allows for the system to become operational, it will assist the multi-state region in addressing job vacancy and skill gap issues in various economic sectors. This region has been hit hard by additional plant closures and a staff reduction in the auto industry since JETS was originally conceptualized.  Whether the JETS system is eventually housed regionally or statewide, there needs to be a funding source identified to allow for continually updating the data in the system and marketing the system to various end users.

End notes

1 This article is based on work conducted by the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Cincinnati under contract number 07-05-017 from the Butler County Work Place, Butler County’s Department of Job & Family Services, Hamilton, OH. The author, who was director of the IPR at the time of the project, was Principal Investigator on the project. She is indebted to the IPR staff, the staff of Workforce One of Southwest Ohio, and to the many people who responded to the surveys.  Two IPR staff members deserve special mention: Dr. Eric W. Rademacher, now Co-Director of the IPR, and Mr. Mark Carrozza, now at the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, for their outstanding contributions leading teams of researchers on the data collection and development of the JETS system respectively.

2 IPR researchers reviewed a number of previous surveys to inform the development of our data collection instruments.  The following six earlier studies represents a good sample of example surveys on which we patterned our survey:

• Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Job Vacancy Survey Pilot for Cuyahoga County Third Quarter 2005, December 2005. Available at http://lmi.state.oh.us/research/JobVacancySurvey.pdf
• Duquesne University Center for Competitive Workforce Development. Pittsburgh and Southwest PA Manufacturing Job Vacancy Survey, Available at 
  http://www.ccwd.duq.edu/docs/ccwd/JobVacancy/jvs02-1_qnaire.pdf
• Job Vacancy Work Group “Survey Instrument” part of Job Vacancy Statistics, Available at http://www.jvsinfo.org/downloadFiles/JVSform.pdf 
• The Wadley-Donovan Group (A Division of Grubb & Ellis), Tulsa Training Inventory Survey Responses Post-Secondary Institutions Prepared for: Tulsa Metro Chamber and Workforce. Tulsa, Oklahoma, August 22, 2002. Available at http://www.tulsachamber.com/lms/postsecondary.pdf
  and
• The Wadley-Donovan Group (A Division of Grubb & Ellis), Tulsa Area Workforce Development Survey. Available at www.workforcetulsa.com/data%20files/Tulsa_Workforce_Development_survey.doc
• Job Vacancy Survey Report for the Greater Montgomery County Labor Market, December 2006. Prepared by Center for Urban & Public Affairs Wright State University and Business Research Group University of Dayton  for the Montgomery County(Ohio)Workforce Investment Board. Available at http://www.thejobcenter.org/pdf/jvsreport.pdf 

3 See “Southwest Ohio Regional Workforce Development Study Identifies Job Vacancies and Training Needs” Workforce One of Southwest Ohio News Release, January 4, 2008.  Available at: http://www.swohioworkforce.com/content/txtcontent/documents/2008-01-04RegionalWorkforceStudyrelease_000.pdf.

References and further reading

Allen, Gracie. Clip heard on National Public Radio on November 4, 2008 in a show by Joe Richman, “Remembering Gracie Allen's White House Run,” on All Things Considered. Link at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96588557 accessed November 24, 2008.

Duquesne University Center for Competitive Workforce Development. Pittsburgh and Southwest PA Manufacturing Job Vacancy Survey, Available at http://www.ccwd.duq.edu/docs/ccwd/JobVacancy/jvs02-1_qnaire.pdf

Honadle, Beth Walter. Job Vacancy, Education, and Training Analysis for Southwest Ohio: Results from a Tri-State Study, Vol. 1: Job Vacancies. A Report prepared for Workforce One of Southwest Ohio. Cincinnati, OH: Institute for Policy Research, University of Cincinnati, December 2007. Available at http://www.swohioworkforce.com/survey/start/web_docs/Vol1CompleteReport.pdf 

___. Job Vacancy, Education, and Training Analysis for Southwest Ohio: Results from a Tri-State Study, Vol. 2 Education and Training. A Report prepared for Workforce One of Southwest Ohio. Cincinnati, OH: Institute for Policy Research, University of Cincinnati, December 2007. Available at http://www.swohioworkforce.com/survey/start/web_docs/Vol2CompleteReport.pdf

Job Center. Job Vacancy Survey Report for the Greater Montgomery County Labor Market, December 2006. Prepared by Center for Urban & Public Affairs Wright State University and Business Research Group University of Dayton for the Montgomery County (Ohio) Workforce Investment Board.  Available at http://www.thejobcenter.org/pdf/jvsreport.pdf

Job Vacancy Work Group “Survey Instrument” part of Job Vacancy Statistics, Available at http://www.jvsinfo.org/downloadFiles/JVSform.pdf 

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Job Vacancy Survey Pilot for Cuyahoga County Third Quarter 2005, December 2005. Available at http://lmi.state.oh.us/research/JobVacancySurvey.pdf

Wadley-Donovan Group (A Division of Grubb & Ellis), Tulsa Training Inventory Survey Responses Post-Secondary Institutions Prepared for: Tulsa Metro Chamber and Workforce. Tulsa, Oklahoma, August 22, 2002. Available at http://www.tulsachamber.com/lms/postsecondary.pdf

___. Tulsa Area Workforce Development Survey. Available at
www.workforcetulsa.com/data%20files/Tulsa_Workforce_Development_survey.doc

Workforce One Investment Board of Southwest Ohio. “Southwest Ohio Regional Workforce Development Study Identifies Job Vacancies and Training Needs” Workforce One of Southwest Ohio News Release, January 4, 2008. Available at: http://www.swohioworkforce.com/content/txtcontent/documents/2008-01-04RegionalWorkforceStudyrelease_000.pdf

The author

Beth Walter Honadle is Professor of Political Science and Affiliated Faculty in the School of Planning at the University of Cincinnati (UC). She was Principal Investigator on the Job Vacancy Education and Training Analysis project while she was Director of the Institute for Policy Research at UC. Dr. Honadle was co-PI on an earlier evaluation of the Economic Development Administration’s Local Technical Assistance Program. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Public Administration and Development, Economic Development Quarterly, the Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Economic Development Review, Journal of the Community Development Society, Public Administration Review, The Regionalist, and The Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy. She was lead author of the book, Fiscal Health For Local Governments: An Introduction to Concepts, Practical Analysis, and Strategies, Academic Press/Elsevier, 2004. Honadle’s career has spanned government (USDA) and academia (University of Minnesota and Bowling Green State University prior to UC).

• beth.honadle@uc.edu
• 513 556 2303