Skimming for Skills

The Employment Training Administration released a guide of relevant sources that will allow individuals to shed light on labor or skill shortages, skill mismatches, and skill deficiencies. Skimming for Skills provides links to surveys, reports, and customized data tools. Each entry notes whether the survey or source supplies information on current or projected employment, job openings, occupational or industry data, and earnings. Skill-related topics include information on the education, training or skills required for jobs; educational attainment; educational field (e.g., college major) or coursework; and the skills individuals possess, including skill assessments. Each entry also lists availability at the national, State or local level, and the time period covered. For the user's convenience, the numerous skill-related sources are classified by those pertaining to adults, postsecondary students, secondary students, and longitudinal surveys that span ages from student to adult. The guide concludes with a list of supplementary resources for understanding occupational, industry and instructional classification codes; science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classifications; and other sources on State and local workforce data and how to use it.