Following Governor Fallin's term as the chairman of the National Governors Association and its America Works Initiative, Oklahoma Works was formally rolled-out during the Governor's 2015 State of the State address. The OBPVS then began to collect additional data from the schools the agency licenses using SOC (Standard Occupational Classification, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics within the U.S. Department of Labor) or CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs by the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education) Codes. Crosswalks exist to rapidly convert one code to the other.
Visit the US Dept. of Labor SOC to learn more about SOC Codes, view a list, or access the Crosswalk.
The coding is significant, because the State of Oklahoma identified Critical Occupations vital to the lines of employment. Hence, education and employment were formally linked together to enhance workforce development. The original 2014 listing of Critical Occupations predicted available employment in 2020 where 2016's identified occupations extend to the year 2025. Education is important to train people for the jobs that will be available.
Through education the Skills Gap (a difference between the training accomplished by individuals and the forecast available jobs) may be reduced.
