Topic 1
The Occupational Information Network or O*Net is an electronic collection of databases introduced by the federal government in 1995 in replacement of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles or DOT. In spite of its many critics, the O*Net offers its users many benefits compared to the traditional DOT in many regards.
Sackett & Laczo (2003) criticize the DOT on a number of aspects such as its focus on tasks rather than on workers attributes; in addition, it focuses on occupation-specific narrative information, which limits the opportunities for cross-job comparison; also, the DOT has proved difficult to maintain and to update according to Brannick et al (2010). On the contrary, the O*Net focuses on job information that is applicable across …show more content…
Sackett & Laczo point out that the O*Net is a work in progress since only a small number of occupations have been thoroughly examined: 1,122 compared to the over 12,000 jobs contained in the DOT. Landy & Conte add that once the system is complete, it is expected to meet at least the following needs: Identify occupational skill standards common to clusters of occupations or job families, facilitate school-to-work transitions by linking educational programs to occupational standards; assigning laid-off workers in finding reemployment through job search assistance, labor market information, and training, and finally assisting employers in building high performance workplaces by providing information about the business practices associated with existing high-performance workplaces. Similarly, Jeanneret et al (1995) believe that O*NET database provides a wealth of information that can be used to respond to a wide range of human resource management needs, such as the formation of career ladders, the development of occupational skills standards, the specification of occupational requirements for school-to-work programs, and the identification of job opportunities or training needs for dislocated
The Occupational Information Network or O*Net is an electronic collection of databases introduced by the federal government in 1995 in replacement of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles or DOT. In spite of its many critics, the O*Net offers its users many benefits compared to the traditional DOT in many regards.
Sackett & Laczo (2003) criticize the DOT on a number of aspects such as its focus on tasks rather than on workers attributes; in addition, it focuses on occupation-specific narrative information, which limits the opportunities for cross-job comparison; also, the DOT has proved difficult to maintain and to update according to Brannick et al (2010). On the contrary, the O*Net focuses on job information that is applicable across …show more content…
Sackett & Laczo point out that the O*Net is a work in progress since only a small number of occupations have been thoroughly examined: 1,122 compared to the over 12,000 jobs contained in the DOT. Landy & Conte add that once the system is complete, it is expected to meet at least the following needs: Identify occupational skill standards common to clusters of occupations or job families, facilitate school-to-work transitions by linking educational programs to occupational standards; assigning laid-off workers in finding reemployment through job search assistance, labor market information, and training, and finally assisting employers in building high performance workplaces by providing information about the business practices associated with existing high-performance workplaces. Similarly, Jeanneret et al (1995) believe that O*NET database provides a wealth of information that can be used to respond to a wide range of human resource management needs, such as the formation of career ladders, the development of occupational skills standards, the specification of occupational requirements for school-to-work programs, and the identification of job opportunities or training needs for dislocated