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Relevance of the activities of the LMI Initiative was looked at from two perspectives. We examined the relevance of the activities from the stated purpose of the Initiative and the criteria for the Strategic Initiatives Program. We also examined the relevance to the intended audiences of the LMI resources being developed through the activities of the Initiative.

ISSUE:

How, and to what extent, do projects reflect the Initiative's purpose of:

• studying emerging requirements for labour market information at the community level;

• identifying specific products and services needed;

• producing and distributing these products and services as required;

• establishing standards for the development and dissemination of those products and services; or

• testing the relative effectiveness of alternative delivery technologies and community-level delivery mechanisms?

FINDINGS:

Each area or component of the Initiative has had a specific focus that reflects one or more of the purposes listed above. All components have worked at identifying specific products and services needed, that could be addressed through that specific component.

• The research component has focused largely on the first purpose, studying emerging requirements for labour market information, and the third, producing and distributing products.

• The new products component has focused on producing and distributing new products.

• The community-based component has focused on producing and distributing products and services at the community or sector level and, to a lesser extent, studying emerging requirements for labour market information at the community or sector level. It will also attempt to test the relative effectiveness of alternative delivery technologies and community-level delivery mechanisms.

• The new technologies component is focused largely on exploring alternative delivery mechanisms, particularly the use of the internet.

• The standards and training component has focused on identify training needs, and exploring ways of meeting these needs, as well as research to lead to standards both for training and for the development and dissemination of labour market information. The work on standards is being conducted in conjunction with national initiatives addressing the standards issues.

• The joint ACR/LMI component is focused on identifying needs and producing products for the ACR audience.

CONCLUSIONS:

The five purposes of the LMI Strategic Initiative are all well reflected in its activities.

ISSUE:

How, and to what extent, do the projects reflect the criteria established for the Strategic Initiatives Program to:

• be innovative or experimental in nature;

• provide lessons learned on what works and what doesn't in terms of improving products and enhancing access and integration into career planning that may be useful for extension to further programming; and

• be evaluated to provide information for input into the process of social security reform?

FINDINGS:

These criteria distinguish the Strategic Initiatives from ongoing programs. The LMI Strategic Initiative was not established as a program intended to meet all labour market information needs in British Columbia. Rather, it was established to be innovative and experimental in order to test different methods of collecting labour market information, and different methods of dissemination.

To a large extent, the projects undertaken by the LMI Strategic Initiative are innovative attempts to address identified needs. Those coordinating the Initiative believe that many of the projects are the first of their kind in British Columbia or sometimes in Canada. Even the delivery structure is innovative, with the number of partners involved in delivery. (Partnership is discussed in Chapter 4.0, Communication and Coordination.) The Initiative is less explicitly experimental in nature, although a number of projects are pilot tests, few have been designed as an experiment with a process built in to assess the project's success.

Many of the people less directly involved in the LMI Strategic Initiative appear to not be aware of the innovative nature of the Initiative. Their views on the Initiative suggest they may be judging the Initiative from the perspective of an ongoing program, rather than from the perspective of an innovative and experimental, short-term Initiative. Conclusions in this evaluation, however, have been considered from the perspective of evaluating a short-term, innovative Initiative, and respondents' views have been interpreted accordingly.

Regarding the second criteria, most of the activities of the LMI Strategic Initiative have the potential to provide lessons learned on what works and what doesn't in terms of improving products and enhancing access and integration into career planning that may be useful for extension to further programming. However, this potential will not be realized unless an effort is made to systematically collect this information and make it available to those with an interest in collecting and/or disseminating labour market information. The process of collecting and sharing information on what has been learned is discussed in Chapter 5.0, Sustainability.

It has been more difficult to assess how the Initiative reflects the third criteria, to provide information for input into the process of social security reform, because the activities of the Initiative do not directly pertain to social security as usually defined (that is, government support through employment insurance or income assistance). Indirectly, this criteria is reflected in the activities of the Initiative in that enhanced and more accessible labour market information should improve the ability of people to make appropriate career decisions and more effective labour market transitions. As a result, these people should have less reliance on social security such as employment insurance and income assistance.

CONCLUSIONS:

The activities of the LMI Strategic Initiative are consistent with the criteria for the Strategic Initiatives Program in that the Initiative is innovative and has the potential to provide lessons learned on what works and what doesn't in terms of improving products and enhancing access and integration into career planning that may be useful for extension to further programming. If the Initiative is successful in increasing access to and effective use of labour market information it will have indirectly provided input into the process of social security reform.

ISSUE:

Are the activities of the LMI Strategic Initiative, to develop, produce and disseminate labour market information, meeting the needs of a diverse audience, including:

• teachers in training; classroom teachers, school counsellors and district resource people in career planning, and coop and work-place training coordinators in school districts throughout the province;

• counsellors, librarians, other information providers and coop coordinators in post-secondary education system;

• librarians in public library system in British Columbia;

• MoEST and HRDC field staff and contractors who provide career planning assistance to individuals adjusting to labour market changes or making career changes for other reasons, such as disability;

• local HRCC labour analysts who try to meet the labour market information needs in their community; and

• program planners in (government, community agencies and education systems) developing career development or employment adjustment programs?

FINDINGS:

A range of people working in the field as career practitioners and labour market analysts were interviewed to find out whether the resources listed in the brochure "What's Key in Labour Market Information" were reaching them, whether they were relevant to their clients and to find out what needs, if any, were being missed.

Awareness of the labour market information resources available varied considerably. Some groups were more aware than were others and more likely than others to make use of the resources.

• Those working in the secondary school system were, as a group, aware of more of the resources than any other group interviewed. This group was also using many of the resources, including Work Futures, Occupational Outlook, Career Paths, Motiv8, and the Explore Database. The people in this group find out where to obtain the resources through the Career Education Society, internet searches and through the resource Career Resources for Practitioners.

• Ministry of Education, Skills and Training field staff varied in their level of awareness, although as a group awareness was moderate to low. They use fewer of the resources, including Work Futures, Occupational Outlook, Career Paths, and British Columbia Colleges and Institutes Student Outcomes. Field staff tend to rely on their local HRCC office to obtain information on where to find resources. Other resources are just sent to them.

• The counsellors in the post-secondary system who were interviewed were aware of a moderate number of resources but did not make use of many of them. Some resources are sent to them, and they learn of others by chance or through their local HRCC office.

• Private trainers tended to be aware of a large number of resources and made use of them as well. The most frequently used resources by this group are Work Futures, Occupational Outlook, Career Paths, Motiv8, and Making Career Sense of Labour Market Information. Private trainers used many sources to obtain information on resources, including their local HRCC office, the internet, the library, professional organizations and other contacts.

• People working at local HRCC offices had a moderate level of awareness of the resources. There is no consistency in the resources they tend to use or in where they obtain information on the resources.

Access to labour market information resources is an issue. A particular problem is being able to identify appropriate resources and where to find them. People do not have time to search for the information, or to explore the resources to determine their suitability and how they could be used with their clients. Many of the resources that practitioners do have were sent to them because they are on a mailing list, but they do not know who is sending the resources.

Internet access varies considerably. Although some schools have good internet access, most have very limited access. Schools do not have the resources to provide internet access for an entire class, so teaching resources cannot be internet based. CD ROM resources are desired as they are viewed as motivating for students.

Internet access for post secondary counsellors and private practitioners also varies. Private practitioners in not-for-profit agencies are concerned with the cost of providing internet access, especially for clients. The cost for print resources is also an issue for some. Generally internet access is improving, but the need for print alternatives will likely remain for some time. In remote areas internet access is not possible, as the telephone infrastructure will not support it.

Some practitioners mentioned another barrier to internet access for some of their clients-lack of comfort in working with computers. For these people, intimidation about computers will keep them away from using any electronic form of labour market information.

Despite the barriers to internet access, many respondents are excited about the possibilities the internet provides and feel that the internet can be a powerful tool to making use of labour market information.

The greatest barrier to access is knowledge about where to find the resources and time to search for the resources. Information overload is another issue often raised. People receive much more information than they have time to read and absorb. Hence they may miss information about labour market information resources, even though the information may have been sent to them.

A number of unmet needs were identified by respondents. Most respondents talked of the need for more information relevant to the local labour market. This seems to have become more of an issue since the number of labour market information analysts working at local HRCCs has been reduced by half. With fewer people to collect local labour market information there is reduced access to this information. Some of the people interviewed are actually attempting to collect their own local information.

The others suggestions for resources that are needed include:

• More hands-on resources for secondary students and information for parents, was requested. Teachers want practical resources on how to use the resources with their students, but not another manual to read. Videos for classroom use and videos for teachers on specific topics are wanted. Resources to connect the curriculum to the labour market are needed for all teachers.

• Information presented at lower literacy levels, but aimed at adults, not youth and for people whose first language is not English is a frequently cited need. Also information in formats suitable for people with visual or cognitive impairments who cannot access print information, such as videos and multi media. Some feel the resources are too dry for their clients, use too much jargon and need to be made more accessible.

• Labour market information is complex and clients need assistance in learning how to use it, whether print based or internet based. Resources are needed on how to use labour market information, not just resources with labour market information.

• Information on realistic job opportunities at entry level and vocational employment is needed for people with employment barriers. Also needed is information about the specific dynamics of each occupation, and the occupations that are "hot", and information about future employment trends.

• Information targeted for specific audiences, such as aboriginal people and women.

• Contact people who have used these resources with the same client groups, who can provide suggestions on how the resources can be used effectively.

The desire for training on how to effectively use the labour market information resources varies across groups. Those in the secondary school system have a high interest in training, as do MoEST field personnel and private trainers. Post-secondary counsellors, who already have a professional degree in counselling, are less interested in training. HRCC personnel think training is useful for others, but most do not feel they need training. Generally, training is wanted in how to make practical use of the resources that is specific to their client base. People are not interested in general information on the labour market. Training is also wanted on how to use the internet in general, and how to use internet resources. People generally want the training to be provided free, or low in cost, and delivered locally.

Both credit and not credit training is needed. Post graduate training for teachers should be offered in the summer. For teachers in training, credit courses are needed. For many career practitioners short half and full day workshops is all the time they will be able to provide. Many practitioners want training to provide them with time away from their regular responsibilities so they can learn. Training videos and interactive training via the internet were also requested.

People involved in delivery are aware of barriers to the effective use of labour market information. These barriers take many forms:

• Awareness of the relevance of labour market information for career planning is still an issue, but one that many believe is declining among career practitioners. Among the general public, however, it is likely that awareness of relevance is low. People want jobs, not labour market information.

• Jargon is another barrier to effective use. The term labour market information will not attract people who are looking for employment. Need to use terms that are relevant, such as employment information.

• Products are not appropriate to all intended audiences. There are lots of products now. Some specific needs have not been addressed, though, such as those of people with high employment barriers, aboriginal people, ESL, women and those with disabilities or low levels of literacy. Sector specific and local information and future trends are also missing.

• Ability to access existing resources is an issue, particularly having knowledge about what is available and where to obtain the resources. Internet access is limited and many people are not comfortable using computers. The lack of an infrastructure to get the information to the intended audiences is a challenge that needs to be addressed.

• There is an overwhelming amount of information. People don't know where to begin so they don't. There is a lot of information on the web, but there is a lack of information telling people what is at each site, and how it can be used.

• Training is needed in effective use of labour market information for career planning. Training for career practitioners in effective use is now viewed as the biggest barrier. This is where the next efforts are being focused. There is a great need to demystify the process of using labour market information for career planning.

• End-users (that is, people undertaking career exploration or change) need support in making use of labour market information in career planning. Increased access is needed to career practitioners for support, especially for people with the greatest employment barriers. Resources on how to use labour market information for career planning would also be helpful, especially for people with the ability to be self directed.

CONCLUSIONS:

There are a wide variety of resources available now, many of which are in use and considered relevant to the intended audiences. Additional labour market information resources are not needed at this time, although there are specific needs that current resources do not address. Rather than creating additional resources the most pressing need is for support to make sure the resources are used and used effectively. Better channels of communication are needed to increase people's knowledge about what resources are available and how to get them. Communication is discussed in the next chapter. In addition to communication, training is needed. A variety of different types of training are needed, for different audiences.

There are systemic issues outside the control of the LMI Strategic Initiative that also affect the likelihood that labour market information will be effectively used. Access to career practitioners with appropriate expertise to assist clients is one such issue.

Overall, the activities of the LMI Strategic Initiative are reasonably relevant to the intended audiences. Recent efforts to make resources accessible to the end user through changes in language and format, and current planning for training indicate that the Initiative is increasingly aware of the needs of the end user and is focusing its activities on these needs.