WIA Quarterly Data Available in Web Application
press release
Ringwood, New Jersey, May 12, 2011 – FutureWork Systems has added another, important decision support application to its growing list of web-based application services specifically designed to assist the workforce development community mine its vast data warehouse. Performance Matters Quarterly is the first and only decision support application that gives workforce development professionals access to WIA quarterly performance data on a national level.
Since May of 2010, USDOL has required states to submit quarterly data about all participants in the WIA program, those that have exited the program and those currently enrolled. The intent of this new policy is to shine a brighter light on the details of what’s happening in the workforce system, giving policy-makers and administrators of workforce programs a richer source of information.
…With the change in reporting requirements, ETA will benefit from more timely analysis, and states will also receive a return on their investment by having access to more regular updates on nationwide participation information as well as employment and training trends. Quarterly individual data will provide a much clearer picture of how the workforce system is responding to changing state and local economic and labor market conditions. - Training and Employment Guidance 24-08 http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=2760
In February, USDOL released the first national, quarterly WIASRD data file for public use. The data file contained over 5 million records, allowing detailed data analysis to the Workforce Investment Board level. Within weeks of its release, the FutureWorks development team, in anticipation of such data availability, loaded the data into a waiting Performance Matters Quarterly web-application and brought it online in a matter of days, complete with interactive dashboards.
The application provides access to this new, immense data warehouse. The fact that the quarterly WIA data now includes participants who are currently in programs, as well as exiters whose performance is known, allows for a type of regression analysis to connect past services and performance to the profiles of people currently being served. The power of this insight coupled with the vast benchmarking opportunities across 600+ Workforce Investment Boards nationally, puts an information tool in the hands of workforce professionals that could significantly advance the effectiveness of workforce programs. As a web-based subscription offering, any number of portals to this application can be made available immediately.
Online analytical processing or OLAP is an approach to swiftly answer multi-dimensional analytical queries. This technology is the basis of applications alternately described as decision support, business intelligence, workforce intelligence and others. Databases configured for OLAP use a multidimensional data model, allowing for complex analytical and ad-hoc queries with a rapid execution time.
“The wealth of attributes associated with the individuals reported in the quarterly WIASRD file is perfectly suited to a robust multidimensional data model,” says Tom Ryan, Partner and CIO at FutureWorks. “PMQ enables such a model for web access through a secure and easy-to-use interface. Current users of our applications find that it quickly moves them beyond researching ‘what happened?’ to discovering ‘how can we improve?’”
“When we read TEGL 24-08 back in ‘09, we were thrilled. The quarterly data submission policy of collecting data on all participants in the WIA program, beyond just those that exited, is exactly the level of data detail the workforce system needs to tell its story and manage for continuous improvement, “ says Ken Ryan, Partner with FutureWork Systems.
Mr. Ryan has seen the workforce system juggle data for over 35 years and this is the first time where an intuitive, web-based data mining tool specifically built for workforce and a vast amount of timely workforce data have come together to serve workforce professionals from the federal down to the local level.
“It’s exciting! I get excited because after ten years of working with decision support technology with state and local area clients we know just how important access to this level of data is for their success. The issue has always been having access to the right tools to mine the stories from the data the system collects to inform program policy. Now we have a robust amount of data and the right tool for mining it. We’re thrilled that we are providing the tool and it’s making a difference. The launch of our Performance Matters Quarterly tool definitely marks another big stride in the evolution of data mining and analysis in workforce. We’re proud to be a part of it.”
FutureWork Systems has provided performance management technology and technical assistance services in support of U.S. Department of Labor initiatives since 2000. The company’s array of Web-based performance management tools, is utilized in 7 states and over 40 Workforce Investment Boards to track, report and analyze WIA, Wagner-Peyser, Trade Act, and state-specific workforce development programs. For more information, visit www.futureworksystems.com.
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