IER were commissioned by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to build upon earlier developments of the LMI for All Careers database focusing on the technical infrastructure and data development, as well as work on increasing the profile of the LMI for All service through a range of stakeholder engagement activities.

More information on the development of the prototype and the full development of LMI for All is availble on the IER website.

Report

Bimrose, J., Sofroniou, N., Barnes, S-A., and Attwell, G. with Rustemeier, P., Stieglitz, D., Elferink, R., Hughes, D., Li, Y., Owen, D., Wilson, R., Bosworth, L. and Millar, P. (2016). LMI for All: Technical, Stakeholder engagement and data development services. Wath-upon-Dearne: UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Lot 1 - Technical infrastructure (IT)

There are four key objectives to providing and developing the technical infrastructure and support for the LMI for All project.

1. Maintenance of a secure and robust infrastructure for the data, including test and production servers and provision for back up services. The hardware and software environment should be capable of being extended in relation to increased data provision and added number of users.
2. Implement processes to ensure that the data made available to developers and end-users meets required quality standards. This involves programming at the API level to suppress data which is either disclosive or is unreliable due to sample sizes and to provide warnings with data which although non disclosive is based on small samples. It also requires processes for checking data against expected returns and providing guidance to developers in the use of the API.
3. Provide modern and flexible software tools to allow the querying of the database by external users. This entails the extension of present data tools to facilitate querying through data cubes.
4. Provide software tools and spaces for documenting the process and allowing public access to the LMI for All database. In particular we wish to support developers in producing applications which utilise the database and API.

Lot 2 - Stakeholder engagement services

The key focus of the proposed project on stakeholder services is to raise awareness and understanding of the LMI for All service among key audiences. This is expressed through the following objectives:

• Encourage third parties to develop applications or enhance existing applications in order to increase the reach of LMI for All among end-users;
• Encourage third-parties to implement the LMI for All “widget”
• Drive end-user traffic to existing applications that offer access to LMI for All data
• Foster positive and supportive attitudes towards the LMI for All service among key groups, including policymakers
• Engage with partners who offer applications that draw upon LMI for All with a view to evaluating the service from an end-user perspective

Lot 3 - Data development services

An online labour market information system requires detailed data if it is to be useful for services that support individuals in making better informed decisions about learning and work. Individuals and those supporting career transitions have an interest in knowing which jobs are available, distinguishing sector, occupation and typical qualifications required, (as well as the typical pay and hours) associated with those jobs. The LMI for All service has successfully achieved this and proven to be a useful tool in the development of applications and widgets aimed at those making career decisions. This includes the following aspects:􀂙

• Occupation (up to the 4-digit level of SOC2010, 369 Categories)
• Sector (up to the 2-digit level of SIC2007, about 80 categories)
• Geographical area (12 English regions and constituent countries of the UK)
• Gender and employment status (full-time, part-time employees and self-employed)

The 369 SOC 4 digit occupational categories lie at the heart of the database prepared for LMI for All. Information at this level of detail is provided everywhere possible, although not all data are available at that level of detail. The core data provided comprises detailed information for Employment (time series of historical and projected levels, plus future replacement needs); Pay and weekly Hours worked. In addition, less detailed information is provided on the following:

• Occupational descriptions (from ONS information); Skills data (based on US O*NET);
• Changes in pay (between 2014 and 2015 );
• Unemployment rates (from LFS data); Hard to fill vacancies (using the UKCES Employer Skills Survey);
• Current job vacancies from Universal Job Match and real-time vacancy data from Burning Glass;
• 2011 Census (limited information on occupational employment at a detailed geographical level and on travel to work distances); and
• Occupational destinations of graduates (based on HESA data) and Apprenticeship Frameworks and Standards including vacancy information.

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Project duration:

May 2015 - April 2016

Project director:

Jenny Bimrose 

Project team:

Sally-Anne Barnes Lot 2, Principal Investigator
Nick Sofroniou Lot 3, Principal Investigator
Deirdre Hughes
Rob Wilson
David Owen
Yuxin Li

Erez Yerushalmi
Luke Bosworth
Peter Millar

Project funder: UKCES