Job Development and Placement

OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION:
National Occupation Classification:
The National Occupation Classification (NOC) is an important tool that is widely used by Canadian vocational rehabilitation professionals. It is a national system for describing occupations where a person can search for a NOC to find where an occupation is classified, or to learn about its main duties, educational requirements, and other useful information. As a national reference for occupations in Canada, it provides a systematic classification structure that categorizes the entire range of occupational activities for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating occupational data for labour market information and employment-related programs and services. Occupational information is important for labour market and career info, skills development, occupational forecasting or projections, labour supply and demand analysis, employment equity, and more.

https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/

About the NOC 2021 version:
'An occupation is defined as a collection of jobs that are similar in work performed to be grouped under a common label for classification. A job encompasses all the tasks carried out by a particular worker to complete their duties.

The basic principle of the classification of the NOC is the kind of work performed. Job titles are identified and grouped in terms of the work performed, which is determined by the tasks, duties, employment requirements, and responsibilities associated with each occupation. Factors such as the materials processed or used, the industrial processes and equipment used, the degree of responsibility and complexity of work, and products made and services provided, are indicators of the work performed when combining jobs titles into occupations and occupations into groups.

The NOC includes more than 40,000 job titles placed into 516 unit groups, organized according to six Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) categories and ten broad occupational categories. Unit groups are based on similarity of tasks, defined by functions and employment requirements. Unit groups can be linked directly to one or more occupations. Each unit group provides a short description of its associated occupation(s), lists its main duties and employment requirements, and provides examples of job titles.

Students, workers, employers, career and vocational counsellors, and educational and training organizations use the NOC on a regular basis to support career and vocational decisions. The classification is also used to support policy development and program design and administration as well as service delivery.'

https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/Home/AboutTheNoc

Hierarchy and Structure of the NOC:
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 is based on a five-tiered hierarchical structure. The first level contains 10 broad occupational categories, the second level is made up of 45 major groups, the third level consists of 89 sub-major groups, the fourth level gathers 162 minor groups, and the last level comprises 516 unit groups.

https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/Structure/Hierarchy?objectid=%2Fd0IGA6qD8JPRfoj5UCjpg%3D%3D

NOC Versions:
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) was implemented in 1992 as a replacement for the Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations (CCDO). It was created through an extensive program of research, collecting information from employers, workers, educators and associations. Analyses and consultations were also conducted with providers and users of labour market data across the country.

https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/Versions/VersionsWelcome

Occupational and Skills Information System (OaSIS):
The Occupational and Skills Information System provides a comprehensive framework of the skills, abilities, personal attributes, knowledge, and interests that are usually required to work in over 900 different Canadian occupations. It also provides context for the work environment in which these occupations are performed.

https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/Oasis/OasisWelcome

Career Handbook:
The Career Handbook (2016) provides global ratings assigned to occupations to further define worker characteristics and other indicators related to occupations that are important for career exploration and informed career decision-making. It includes information on aptitudes, interests, involvement with data/people/things, physical activities, environmental conditions, education/training indicators, career progression and work settings. This counselling resource is used by a wide range of professionals for many applications, and by individuals engaged in self-directed career planning.

The Career Handbook includes 939 occupational profiles that provide updated information in the following sections: Lead Statement, Examples of Job Titles, Workplaces/Employers, Employment Requirements, Exclusions, Occupational Options and Remarks.

The purpose of the Career Handbook is to provide useful, reliable and accessible information about occupations to counsellors and their clients. It has been developed by occupational researchers, analysts and trained raters. The ratings assigned to each group are global and describe the occupation with respect to skills and other variables to provide important indicators for career exploration. The Handbook will help counsellors and their clients investigate occupations and make informed career decisions. It is intended for career counselling, development and exploration purposes.

https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/CareerHandbook/ChWelcome

Dictionary of Occupational Titles and O*Net:
The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) was created under the sponsorship by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. It was last updated in 1991 and has been replaced by the O*Net, the primary source of occupational information. It is sponsored by the ETA through a grant to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. O*Net is a tool for career exploration and job analysis with detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, developers, researchers, and others. You can use O*Net Online to find, search, or browse across 900+ occupations based on your goals and needs. There are comprehensive reports to learn about requirements, characteristics, and available opportunities for selected occupations in the USA.

https://www.onetonline.org/

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS):
The NAICS is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. It was created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement and is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. It is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles with a comprehensive system encompassing all economic activities. It has a hierarchical structure. At the highest level, it divides the economy into 20 sectors. At lower levels, it further distinguishes the different economic activities in which businesses are engaged. It is designed for the compilation of production statistics and the classification of data relating to establishments. It takes into account the specialization of activities generally found at the level of the producing units of businesses. The criteria used to group establishments into industries in NAICS are similarity of input structures, labour skills and production processes. It can also be used for classifying companies and enterprises. The structure of NAICS is hierarchical. It is composed of five levels.

level 1: sectors (two-digit codes)
level 2: subsectors (three-digit codes)
level 3: industry groups (four-digit codes)
level 4: industries (five-digit codes)
level 5: Canadian industries (six-digit codes)

https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=1181553

LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION:

Government of Canada Job Bank:
The Government of Canada Job Bank is a website offering a range of information and tools including: job searching by title and location; a resume builder; career planning (choose a career, school to work transition, career quizzes, job profiles, skills checklist); labour market info (explore the market, job profiles, wage reports, outlook reports, job market snapshots, sector profiles, economic scans, labour market news); Hiring (post a job, recruitment advice); and more!

https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/home

British Columbia Provincial Labour Market Info:
WorkBC is British Columbia's resource for provincial labour market info. It provides access to the world of work in BC with a goal to help people navigate BC's labour market, connect job seekers and employers, help people find jobs, explore career options, improve skills, and help employers find the right employees. Their website offers a database of job postings, career tools, blog with trends and tips, a map of WorkBC employment service centres, and more. Checkout WorkBC to search and prepare for jobs, plan a career, discover employment services, explore training and education, research the labour market, access employer resources, or find loans and grants.

https://www.workbc.ca/

VOCATIONAL PLANNING:

Developing a Vocational Rehabilitation Plan:
The vocational rehabilitation plan is one of the most important steps in services. It puts together all the gathered information about the client, vocational goals, and the matching of the client’s attributes with recommendations on next steps to assist them with entering or returning to work. Here are the general steps involved in developing a plan:

1. Info Gathering (client limitations/restrictions, diagnosis/prognosis, health/medical assessments and reports, educational and employment records, etc.).
2. Return to Work Hierarchy
3. Occupational Exploration
4. Job Matching
5. Goal Setting

JOB PLACEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT:

The job placement and development process involves understanding the stigma faced by people experiencing disabling conditions, looking for employment that matches a person's general and specific skills, understanding a client's restrictions and limitations, understanding the job demands (physical, cognitive, psychological, hazard exposure, requirement for PPE), and potential interventions or treatments to consider for increasing the likelihood of a successful return to work:

- Work Conditioning to restore/maximize function.
- Work Hardening to simulate work activities and restore function.
- Direct Job Placement based on employability skills, behaviors, and place ability, using activities to locate a suitable job for clients and get them hired for the job. Job placement assistance can include skills training, direct placement, supported employment, and demand-side job placement.
- Supported Employment emphasizes job preparation, on-the-job training, advocacy, job retention, and follow-up services. A common model used in supported employment is known as the "train-place-train-follow-up and place-train-follow-up" which involves surveying employers, training clients, placing clients in employment settings, and supplying long-term follow-up training.
- Sheltered Workshop services that can include physical rehabilitation, work/life skills training, and work experience in the workshop setting.
- Enclave Model
- Job Coaching Model
- Co-Worker Model
- Work Trial
- Job Shadowing
- Training-on-the-Job (TOJ) or On-the-Job (OTJ) Training
- Job Bundling
- Social Enterprise or Social Entrepreneurship

JOB PLACEMENT:
The matching of a person's abilities with the work environment and requirements of a job can be a challenging process that involves aggressive or persistent marketing of people to employers. It may require knowledge and understanding of the hidden job market, using cold calls to employers, negotiating with employers, job analysis and matching, monitoring of progress with the vocational rehabilitation plan, and regular documentation on contacts with the client, employer, and other parties.

JOB SEARCH:
The job search process involves writing a resume (chronological, functional, or combination), identifying and addressing potential problem areas (gaps between jobs, frequent jobs over short periods, firing or termination, lack of experience, etc.). It may also involve writing a cover letter, practicing interviewing skills (role playing questions and answers, researching the company/position, coping with anxiety or nervousness, timeliness, etc.). Job search techniques include in-person walk-ins, cold calling, direct mailing, written applications, online applications to job postings, networking, and more. Job clubs may be available in some communities and offer an opportunity for job-seeker training programs that encourage motivation using a buddy system, family support, role modeling, and other techniques.

REFERENCES:
College of Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals, Board of Directors. 2021-2023. Standards of Practice. College of Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals. https://cvrp.net/wp-content/uploads/129-Approved-Version-02-CVRP-SoPs.pdf

College of Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals, Board of Directors. 2019. Vocational Rehabilitation Competencies. College of Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals. https://cvrp.net/wp-content/uploads/60-Competencies.pdf