You would have difficulty fully describing how Jennifer Barnett has used O*NET over the years. She says, "How I use O*NET changes every day since I have been in this role." Jennifer has been Business Strategies Coordinator, heading up the Regional Team for four Workforce Investment Boards, at Louisiana Works—for more than a year.
Before returning to her "home" Katrina area, she was with the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance—was introduced to O*NET by a co-worker when she started, as a Career Specialist. Within a few months she headed up the Wagner-Peyser Staff and had everyone on her team and the Veterans Team go thru the O*NET Academy "It was important that we had access to all the tools we could get our hands on. That's what everyone is hungry for, having as many great tools as possible in their workforce toolboxes."
"This was just such a great tool that could be used for career exploration, writing better job orders, helping businesses with job descriptions—so many things." How does she use O*NET as Business Strategies Coordinator? "Oh, really, we use O*NET more ways than I could describe in a few minutes. I use it regionally when preparing briefings for the WIB Board Directors. Locally, it is used by many front-line staff. It is used as an additional resource for local area coordinators and their team leads to better understand our local industries. We use it as an important tool in developing sector strategies."
"A wonder of O*NET is that it is online. I can get information about occupations, specific in-demand occupations, and economic data by geography—so much—right now. We recently redesigned our workforce system here. We are going from 10% of our staff being dedicated to businesses, up to 40% being dedicated to businesses. O*NET will be so very helpful to the Business Service Representatives, and to their client employers. We meet with the local coordinators, monthly, and as we further develop the new business services model, O*NET will be a great asset in intelligence gathering, as well as, the more traditional uses, such as, using O*NET to write better job descriptions. I am looking forward to adding to our bundle of services for employers, O*NET's Business Toolkit"
This is especially important now, as the Business Strategies Team needs to focus business needs and making demand-driven strategy decisions. "Additionally, want to empower local employers by showing them resources available to them that will add value to the bottom-line, such as O*NET. We are now acting more on a consulting basis, and working towards being an extension of their Human Resources arm. The O*NET Toolkit for Business is an excellent tool, showing businesses, step-by-step, how they can use O*NET several ways, to accomplish much with little time, money, or people. As we continue to expand and enhance our services to businesses, I would like to have our local Business Service Reps promote the Toolkit when working with individual businesses."
Jennifer rapidly names many other ways she has used O*NET: career mapping; career lattices; understanding industry sectors and seeing how workforce realities are shifting; explaining to the Workforce Investment Boards how they can enhance a service that they offer to the business community. The common thread in these O*NET applications is research. "Yes, these days we are using O*NET occupational information to meet constantly evolving research needs. O*NET Online has become a resource that I use all the time, though I no longer am helping someone write a resume or job description."
When Jennifer is not boosting the economy of the New Orleans area, she is taking pictures of her newborn, Sara. The folks at work feel that Sara is theirs, too, as does the team back in Tampa Bay. Her growing household includes Jennifer's husband, who also worked with the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance. .
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