Using Labor Market Data for Program
Development
Daylene Meuschke, Ed.D.
College of the Canyons
Gabriel Rench
EMSI
Ralph Plaza
EMSI
RP Conference
April 11, 2014
Session Overview
 Justifying the need for a new program
 A story in establishing a need for two new programs
 Rights and Wrongs of Labor Market Data
 Real-Time Labor Market Data
 Augmenting labor market data with EMSI Analyst
 EMSI Analyst Demos
 Q&A
Typical Activities in Needs Assessments for New
Programs
 Determine labor market demand (surveys or focus groups with industry
representatives)
 Lots of dialog with faculty and Instruction or Academic Affairs offices
 Get feedback on proposed curriculum
 Identify similar programs in the region
 I.R. office prepares report based on labor market analyses
How is this similar or different at your campuses?
Our story: Web Developer and Web Publishing &
Design Programs
 Background
 CIT department requested needs studies for two new programs
 Work began two years ago
 Challenges
 No specific Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) code for
these jobs.
 SOC code from BLS not available until May 2013.
 Many people employed in the occupation are self-employed.
 Wide array of job titles which required looking at job postings.
 Low number of job projections from local industry focus group.
 Discrepancies in data sources.
Our story: Web Developer and Web Publishing &
Design Programs, cont.
 Solutions-Round 1
 EMSI used for employment projections and median hourly earnings using
broad SOC categories (Computer Programmers, Computer Software
Engineers-Applications and Computer Programmers-Systems Software).
 Burning Glass Technologies, Labor/Insight™ used for job postings analysis
using Metropolitan Statistical Area.
 O*NET
 Focus group participants provided input on employment needs, hourly
wages and curriculum needs.
 Solutions-Round 2
 Everything from Round 1 but added
 Updated labor market data based on new BLS SOC code
(still limited because it only contained 2012 data)
 EMSI labor market data including self-employed
Gabriel Rench
Vice President, Higher Education
13 Years
100 employees
Pacific Northwest/UK
USA, Canada, UK, Brazil, France
4000 Users
Career Builder 2012
Federal Reserve, Atlantic Monthly,
New York Governor, Georgetown,
Harvard Business Review
EMSI Products
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Economic Impact Study (EIS )
GAP
Student Resume Analysis (SRA)
LMI Certification
Career Coach
Analyst
 Program research, environmental scanning, gap, grants, student recruitment,
savings
Spectrum of Labor Market Data
 Real-time LMI
 Web Spider Technology that captures the
churn in the talent market
 Best for understanding recent
hiring demand and employer
interest
 Traditional LMI
 Structural analytic sources
(i.e. BLS) capture broad economic factors
occurring in a market
 Best for projecting supply and demand
dynamics, and supporting strategic
workforce plans
Real-time LMI
Strengths:
 Monthly Pulse
 Scrapes Skills
 Ties back to the local companies
 Snapshot of who is hiring
Weaknesses
 Ghost Postings
 Doubles
 Certain industries are almost non-existent
 Employers hire people not requirements
Traditional LMI
Data Resources
“Never before has the link between a college
education and postgraduate job prospects been
more important.”
– The Aspen Institute’s Guide for Using Labor Market
Data to Improve Student Success
EMSI Analyst
Advantages
 Labor Market Data at zip code level
 Ability to set timeframe for projections
 Displays number of program completers within your region
 All data in one point of access
 Up to date data on a quarterly basis
Other Uses
 Program Reviews
 Career Technical Education Addendum in Program Review
 Data needs in grant applications
 Economic Development and Academic Affairs
 Strategic Planning
 Educational & Facilities Master Plans
Analyst: A Case Study
Web Developer and Web Publishing and
Design
EMSI Analyst - Audience Participation
Now it’s your turn
Q&A