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As part of the evaluation, profiles were developed for 15 projects funded through the LMI Strategic Initiative. The projects were selected because they were expected to reveal useful lessons on collecting LMI and producing and disseminating LMI resources, and to illustrate a range of different types of projects funded by the Initiative. They are not intended to be a representative sample of the 100 or so projects funded by the Initiative. Seven were community-based projects, which, by their very nature, could be expected to have an impact only at the local level. The remaining eight case studies were distributed over the other four components of the Initiative, all of which could be expected to have an impact at the provincial level. Table 2.1 gives a breakdown of the 15 projects according to the component of the Initiative that funded it. 
The complete profiles are provided in a separate document: The Summative Evaluation of the Labour Market Information Strategic Initiative: Profiles of Selected Projects. Each profile contains a complete description of the project and how it was carried out. Information on the impacts, or potential impacts of each project, is also included. Also included are the lessons learned by people who were involved in carrying out each project about the collection, production or dissemination of LMI. The information for the profiles was collected through interviews with people involved in carrying out the project, and in some cases, with users, or people with a knowledge of the impact or potential impact of the project. This chapter provides a overview of each project, as well as a summary of the key lessons that were learned from these projects. 2.1 Overview of Projects ProfiledValley Links: Comox Valley Community Information System NetworkLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $74,5664 Internet address: www.valleylinks.net The Comox Valley Community Information System Network, also known as Valley Links, is an ongoing network of linked websites containing economic, demographic, labour market, tourism and community information about the Comox Valley, as well as links with information outside the community. The goal is to provide the public, including investors, business people, and people doing career planning, with the information they need to make good decisions. The home page provides the user with links to the various pages, including the Economy and Jobs page. The Economy and Jobs page provides links to a variety of sites with information on the local economy through links to the various Chambers of Commerce in the Valley, as well as the Comox Valley Economic Development Society and the local HRCC. It also provides links to agencies that provide job search and career development assistance, and links to sites with career planning and labour market information, including the BC WorkInfoNet site. As of the Spring 1999, there were over 150 agencies, organizations and programs profiled on the Community Network Site. The Society continues to operate and expand the network with funding from various sources and employs an Executive Director to oversee the work of the Society, including maintaining and expanding the website and installing public access terminals throughout the Valley. What Can You Do with a Degree?WebsiteLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $17,650 Internet address: http://vaughan.fac.unbc.ca/counsel/jobarchiv/ This project, carried out by the counselling department of the University of Northern British Columbia, created a searchable database of real job postings that were no longer current, to assist post-secondary students, or those planning a post-secondary education, to determine the employment potential of various degree programs. Students can use the information to determine what education and experience will be needed for the kind of employment they hope to get. Graduates and near graduates can use the database to get information on some employers, and industries that might hire someone with the education they have just completed so they can pursue a more targeted job search. The database can be searched by degree level, degree program or area of concentration. The user can specify all three, or just one or two. The search engine will return an overview of all the job listings matching the criteria that were found. This overview provides the job title, the expiry date, the name of the employer, and the type of employment, such as part-time, contract or summer employment. Using the mouse, the user can click on any job of interest to get details about the job. The details can include, depending on what information was in the original job listing, wages, number of hours, location, academic requirements, and other information such as responsibilities and required skills and qualifications. The database integrity is maintained by the UNBC technical person who was adviser to the project. There is no funding for ongoing maintenance and updating of the database. Work study students are used and the head of the counselling department provides instruction and oversees the work. Central Island Employment NetLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $50,000 Internet address: http://www.island.net/~cien/ The Central Island Employment Net (CIEN) is a comprehensive information network encompassing a database of programs, services and information available for unemployed people of the Central Vancouver Island area. The purpose of the Central Island Employment Net was to increase communication, cooperation and coordination among agencies that provide services to the unemployed in the area. The CIEN website provides information on services available to the unemployed for the Central Vancouver Island area. It organizes the information in two ways: through descriptions of 16 local agencies and their services; and through types of services available, such as academic upgrading, career exploration, job search techniques, personal development, service needs determination and skill training programs. Other relevant sources of information on the internet are linked to the site within the body of the site’s text. CIEN also provides information on job postings in the area. In addition to the website, the project created a “listserv” for service providers that allows them to communicate quickly and easily among themselves and enables them to remain up-to-date on the services and activities of member agencies. The agencies continue to use the “listserv” to communicate with one another. Most agencies also regularly update their home pages on the site; however, some agencies have not maintained their home pages and some of the links on the site have broken. Community Skills Centres Get Web HelpLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $25,000 Internet address: http://www.skills.bc.ca The Labour Market Information Online Guide, on the website of the Community Skills Centres Consortium of British Columbia (CSCCBC), helps internet users to understand labour market information, to find the information they need for career planning, to determine how best to sell their skills and experience to employers, and to use the internet to find the information they need. An interactive map of the province on the Consortium site also links visitors to the websites of the Community Skills Centres throughout the province. Clicking on a community name on the interactive map brings visitors to the website of the Skills Centre in that community. Some of these websites were developed with the assistance of the contracted web designer who created the consortium’s website. The CCSCBC site also provides a link to the BC WorkInfoNet site, as well as other LMI and career sites, and the LMI Online Guide. The guide consists of four parts: Using LMI; Finding LMI; Using the Internet; and Taking the Next Steps. The first page, Using LMI, defines LMI and describes how to use it by leading the user to pages on assessment, career planning and training. Each of these pages provides a brief overview of the topic, and links to other relevant websites, with short descriptions of the purpose of each of the linked sites. The Finding LMI page provides a brief overview of where to obtain labour market information. Using the Internet offers the beginner an internet tutorial, and Taking the Next Step recaps the steps in beginning the career planning process and encourages users to contact HRDC with any questions on career planning. Following the end of the Initiative, there has been no formal mechanism to ensure that the information on the CSCs’ sites is updated regularly. Keeping each site current is the responsibility of its respective CSC, and the capability of each CSC to do this varies considerably. Some sites are updated regularly by the CSC’s staff and contain a wealth of information on local LMI and services offered, but others have become out of date and links both to pages within their site and to other sites that have been broken or have become corrupted. Learning Works Web GuideLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $25,000 Internet address: http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~learnwks/ This pilot project developed a database and website of education and employment support programs for adults in Greater Victoria. The purpose was to provide a centralized database for adult learners and people seeking employment with information about the program choices available in Greater Victoria, as well as information on how to pursue these opportunities. The goal was to improve access to academic and employment support programs in Greater Victoria. A secondary purpose was to provide the service providers with information about what services and programs were available to their clients. This would allow them to make appropriate referrals and to identify gaps in programming that they may wish to address. The database consists of two components: agency contact information and a classification scheme used for searching for information. A user can search for information on programs and services using a number of factors, such as eligibility information, like age or membership in an equity group; and the type of service, such as career exploration, courses or skills sought. There are about 20 agencies with paid-up registration to the database until June 1999. The registration fees have been used to keep someone on contract to look after membership fees and for contacting agencies to keep them involved. Some of the links have been lost because of lack of resources to maintain the site. In April 1999, BC WorkInfoNet agreed to take over the database, update its contents, and place it on their website. Getting Into the A.C.T.: A Practical Guide to Arts Career Trends in British ColumbiaLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $68,750 Internet address: http://www.artsjobs.bc.ca The Pacific Music Industry Association (PMIA) developed a booklet and website examining career trends in the cultural industries of motion picture production, music and new media development and technology. The purpose was to provide young people interested in careers in the arts with practical insights into the working world of the motion picture, music and new media industries in British Columbia. Virtually no labour market information existed for the sector prior to this project, and it was intended to fill the gap. The 27-page Getting Into the A.C.T. booklet is written simply in a conversational style to appeal to young people. It first discusses employability skills in the film, music or new media industries, as well as the importance of developing an entrepreneurial approach and business skills, such as marketing oneself and networking. The booklet goes on to devote a section to each of the three industries, describing types of jobs, providing insider tips on getting into the industry, and discussing practical steps like volunteering, researching the industry, obtaining training and ways to get your foot in the door. A section on career profiles provides a comprehensive table of jobs in the industries, along with their associated skills, and a section on education outlines the various public and private post-secondary institutions in the province and whether they offer programs related to any of the three industries. Finally, the booklet provides some general advice on succeeding in the cultural industry, such as focusing on goals, applying oneself and following one’s passion. The Getting Into the A.C.T. website expands on the information in the booklet, with an even more conversational style and in a format designed to grab the user’s attention and interest. In addition to this information, the website features an interactive component through which visitors can enter their skill set to discover jobs in the industry for which they are suited or qualified. It also provides links to websites of the province’s post-secondary schools and various industry associations, and has an on-line question form. As of Spring 1999, the PMIA was attempting to locate a new host for the website, as the existing arrangement was set to expire. The association was also attempting to find the means to fund maintenance and updating of the site. CD ROM: Xplore Science CareersLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $33,925 Xplore Science Careers is a interactive, multimedia CD ROM that profiles eight women working in science and technology jobs. The purpose of the project, which was carried out by the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST), was to provide a portable and flexible information tool about the variety of careers available to women working in science and technology. Profiled on the CD ROM are eight women with the following jobs: Aquatic Biologist, Biology Instructor, Bio-medical Engineer, Environmental Consultant, Lab Technician, Landscape Architect, Multimedia Producer, and Telecommunications Engineer. At the beginning of the CD ROM, the user has three modules to choose from: Knowing Yourself, Women at Work, and Career Resources. The “Knowing Yourself” module is a brief self survey of strengths and interests. The user can complete the survey and compare her results with those of the women profiled. The “Women at Work” module contains profiles of the eight women. Each profile includes a graphic career path with a photo of the woman and a brief overview. The profiles are organized into three sections. “The Path”, which describes the path the woman took from childhood to her current career; “What It’s Like”, a description of the work the woman does, including two sound clips of the woman talking about what her job is like, and how she integrates her career with family responsibilities; and “Things to Know”, which is advice from each woman about pursuing a career in science and technology. The third component of the CD ROM, “Career Resources”, contains brief lists of organizations and websites with information relevant to careers in: computer science, engineering, life sciences, physical sciences and technology. Information on other websites of interest is also provided, as well as information about SCWIST. SCWIST is seeking funds to promote and market the CD ROM. It continues to promote the CD ROM at venues where SCWIST promotes its organization. Work Futures: BC Occupational Outlooks and Work SceneLMI Strategic Initiative Funding for the Work Futures resource and facilitator’s guide, and the publishing tool: $401,730; for the Work Scene resource, facilitator’s guide and lesson plans: $97,310 Internet address for Work Futures: http://workfutures.bc.ca Internet address for Work Scene: http://workinfonet.bc.ca/workscene Work Futures: BC Occupational Outlooks provides information about nearly 200 occupations in BC, including information on working conditions, educational requirements and employment outlooks. Work Scene: BC Work Futures for Youth presents the occupational profiles in a quick-reference, easy-to-use format designed for youth. The 182 occupational profiles are organized into 10 chapters, with at least 25 occupational profiles in each. Within each chapter, profiles are organized by skill level, based on the amount of education or training needed for the occupation. Each profile in Work Futures contains a general description of the occupation, the education and training required, working conditions and employment prospects. An on-line version of Work Futures allows for keyword searches and links with the resource, making it easy to navigate within the resource. Work Scene: BC Work Futures for Youth, is a re-written version of Work Futures containing the same occupational groups, organized into the same 10 chapters. The information has been simplified and the language written to a grade 10/11 literacy level. The book also includes photos and information on individuals working in each occupation. A PDF (Portable Document Format) version of Work Scene is also available on the internet; an interactive on-line version has not been created. Because of the scope of Work Futures, and its broad use, keeping it up to date is a priority. In Spring 1999, discussion was under way about updating Work Futures with the latest Census and COPS data. Resources, both funding and people, will be needed to do this. Making Career Sense of Labour Market InformationLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $66,968 Internet address: http://workinfonet.bc.ca/lmisi/making/Mcstoc.htm Making Career Sense of Labour Market Information consists of a manual and facilitator’s guide, which were produced approximately one year apart. The course introduces career practitioners to key socio-economic and labour market concepts, trends and issues. It reviews the effects that demographics, technology, increased competition, globalization and structural economic change are having on the labour market. The resource highlights the occupations and skills required in a changing economy as well as occupational classification and forecasts used to describe the changes. Practical examples are provided on researching and using LMI in the job search and career development process. The facilitator’s guide, a companion publication to the manual, has been used to train trainers on incorporating LMI in career development and has formed the basis of one-, three- and five-day courses offered around the province for career practitioners, including teachers and career counselors in the K-12 school system, and career counselors in social agencies and government. BC WorkInfoNet (BC WIN) Website and SocietyLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $674,429 Internet address: http://workinfonet.bc.ca The BC WorkInfoNet website comprises annotated links to labour market and career information websites throughout BC and Canada. The purpose of the website is to provide “one-stop” access to labour market and career information in electronic form in BC to make useful on-line labour market and career information accessible to British Columbians. Direction for the website is provided by the British Columbia Work Information Network Society, a collection of partnerships between funders, producers and users of labour market and career information. The website provides one-stop access to a wide range of resources and services. Some of the links that are available at BC WorkInfoNet are: Changing Times, Career Paths, Motiv8, Realm: Creating Work You Want, What Works, Career Gateways, Work Futures and Work Scene: BC Work Futures For Youth. The BC Youth site is also linked to BC WIN. The youth site is aimed at a 15 to 29 year-old audience. To assist users in making better use of the website, BC WIN has an on-line tutorial, Surfing for Work in B.C. The tutorial gives a brief introduction to how the Internet can be used as a tool to help people find work in the province and to use on-line resources for developing their careers. The website also provides information on resources available, on-line and in print, and how to obtain them. In addition, the site has a listserv for career practitioners with over 600 members. At the end of the Initiative, BC WIN lost its stable source of funding, so it had to shut down some of its services. As of Spring 1999, funding sources for BC WIN included Human Resources Development Canada; the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology; the BC Ministry of Education; and Can WorkInfoNet. The funding has allowed for continued development of the site, but at a reduced level. On April 13, BC WIN launched a new user interface at its annual general meeting. The interface organizes the website for each user group. Tourism Career Connections WebsiteLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $153,350 Internet address: http://www.prit.bc.ca The Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism’s (PRIT) Tourism Career Connections website is a comprehensive information source for tourism career development with an electronic labour exchange currently under development. The site is intended to raise awareness of the tourism industry labour market and to provide a realistic picture of its employment opportunities. The Pacific Rim Institute of Tourism (PRIT) Tourism Career Connections website is an extensive resource for those interested in a career in BC’s tourism sector. It includes a checklist of skills and interests to determine whether tourism is right for the user; lists of job types in various parts of the sector; and the Tourism Career Action Plan, which provides sources of information about the industry and looks at educational opportunities available. In addition to developing the website, PRIT was funded under the LMI Strategic Initiative to determine the feasibility of an electronic labour exchange for the industry. PRIT piloted an industry-specific on-line job bank with tourism employers to discover their needs around an electronic labour exchange. The job bank will provide industry-specific employment opportunities and on-line worker job matching services. It will consist of occupational skill checklists, as well as employee résumés and descriptive job summaries. The tourism occupational skill checklists, used by both employers and job seekers to create job or skill profiles, will map to the corresponding checklists on HRDC’s national Electronic Labour Exchange. PRIT maintains the website and continues to market the site through all of its activities, including presentations at secondary schools and industry presentations. PRIT is working with software developers to create the on-line tourism job bank from the model created and incorporate it into the national Electronic Labour Exchange that should be operational by Summer 1999. BC Regional Employment Projection ModelLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $50,000 The BC Regional Employment Projection Model (REPM) is an econometric model to predict employment changes at the sub-provincial level for various industries. REPM provides a projection of employment by region by taking forecasts of direct employment and calculating the indirect and induced employment impacts of changes in the direct employment numbers. The value of the model is to measure the effects of various “shock” scenarios at the community level. It can calculate employment projections for a community, based on an anticipated economic shock, such as the expiration of the contract for ore, resulting in a mine closure. For instance, it can show the impact of a mine closure on direct and indirect employment in a community where 500 people will be laid off. In Spring 1999, BC STATS was in the process of updating the model with 1996 census data. Additional funding would be needed to complete the updating, as BC STATS cannot do this within their regular budget. The model as developed can be used by econometricians. Further development is needed to make it easy for program planners to use. Discussions were under way about the possibility of securing funding for these improvements. On Track: Private Training Outcomes SurveyLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $327,026 Internet address: http:///www.ceiss.org/edresearch/ontrack This was a pilot project to test the feasibility of collecting education and employment outcome information from former students of private post-secondary institutions in BC. The On Track: Private Training Outcomes Survey, is an ongoing follow-up survey designed to capture outcome information from graduates of BC private training institutions. The outcomes survey data provide demographic information about the graduates, their employment outcomes, the relevance of their training to their employment, and level of satisfaction with the program they graduated from. The data obtained can be used for the following purposes:
The On Track project continues with funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education Training and Technology and from Human Resources Development Canada (in a two-thirds, one-third split). Career Gateways CD ROM and On-Line ApplicationLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $65,000, plus $107,000 for the Virtual LMI Toolkit, included in Career Gateways. Internet address: http://careergateways.org. Career Gateways: Applying Labour Market Information in a Changing World is a CD-ROM and on-line application that is designed for a broad audience of career practitioners, and incorporates a significant number of facilitator resources, such as Work Futures and Career Paths, as well as a “navigational road map” to key resources in BC. The purpose of the CD is to maximize the use of existing LMI resources by providing a user interface for career practitioners to access information on specific topics in various LMI resources. It is intended for career practitioners in the K to 12 school system, and the post-secondary system, as well as those in the community providing services to government clients. Career Gateways: Applying Labour Market Information in a Changing World incorporates nine existing LMI resources, including Work Futures and Making Career Sense of Labour Market Information, that have been organized, linked and annotated by career practitioners from three areas: the K to 12 school system, the post-secondary system and contracted service providers. Career practitioners who working with students or clients are the primary audience for Career Gateways, but it can also be used directly by people doing career exploration. From Career Gateways’ opening page the user can read how Career Gateways can be used by the career practitioner, or can go to the “Library” for annotated information on the resources used in the CD ROM, as well as many others. Alternatively, the user can go directly into one of three activity modules: “K to 12”, “Post-Secondary”, or “Community Practitioners”. Each of the three activity modules provides an introduction on the module, and information on career planning and labour market information organized into the following topics: self awareness, introduction to LMI, occupational information, labour market trends, skills for the new economy, education and training, action plan, and career log. By clicking on a topic the user will find a description of the topic, and a set of activities and LMI resources related to the topic. The activities are presented in a list, with keywords and a brief description of each activity, and links to the actual activities and lessons in one of the five facilitator’s guides on the CD. For each topic there is also a set of links to relevant information in various LMI resources on the CD ROM. The Career Education Society continues to promote the CD at conferences for career practitioners. In Spring 1999, the Career Education Society began providing hands-on training on the CD ROM as a resource for career planning. Training sessions are being provided in local communities throughout the province, with funding from the Youth Initiative. Accessible LMI for Persons with DisabilitiesLMI Strategic Initiative Funding: $60,500 Internet address: http://workinfonet.bc.ca/lmisi/jointcom/AccessLMI/index.htm The purpose of the Accessible LMI Project was to ensure that the considerations of persons with disabilities are understood and to improve the content and delivery of labour market information to its audiences. Accessibility is of particular concern to persons with disabilities, who remain significantly under-represented in the labour market. Accessibility, as it relates to the community of persons with disabilities, is multi-faceted, encompassing not only the delivery, but also the content of the information. The BC Office for Disability Issues (ODI), in partnership with Vancouver Hospital’s Health Sciences Centre-GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre and BC’s Educational Association of Disabled Students, undertook community consultations to determine the LMI needs of persons with disabilities. The project, Accessible LMI, was conducted in four phases:
2.2 Lessons Learned from Case Studies about Collecting LMI and Producing and Disseminating LMI ResourcesOne of the purposes of the LMI Strategic Initiative was to test innovative methods of collecting labour market information and producing and disseminating LMI resources to learn what works and what doesn’t. The case studies provide illustrations of what was learned through the various projects funded through the Initiative:
A review of the lessons learned in each of the 15 case studies revealed some themes, or lessons that were common to a number of projects. The key lessons learned about collecting labour market information, and about developing or disseminating LMI resources, follow.
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