With the plethora of job sites out there, it can be confusing to filter out the noise around what a job actually requires, what it pays, and where one can be trained for it. However, there are two taxpayer-funded sites that provide a wealth of information. They are easily searched and cross-referenced for those looking for apprenticeship opportunities in high demand occupations across all industries, including the energy industry: the Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration’s O*NET Online (https://onetonline.org) and Apprenticeship.gov (https://apprenticeship.gov) sites. This brief guide will describe how to get the most out of these valuable public resources.
O*NET is the best place to start. O*NET searches a thousand occupations by description, e.g., “Electrician,” browse by industry, e.g., “Utilities,” or by factoring in your skills and interests to find an occupation that suits your work style. For example, the term “Energy” in the Occupational Keyword Search returns 20 occupations, some of which are shown in the figure below.
O*NET also tracks jobs that are in high demand, because they are growing rapidly or have large number of openings. These jobs have a “Bright Outlook,” and can be browsed from the O*NET home page under the heading “Find Occupations.”
One such Bright Outlook energy-related occupation because of Rapid Growth is Electrician. Let’s follow this occupation.
Electrician is identified by the Standard Occupational Code (SOC) 47-2111.00. The O*NET page for it highlights 21 common job tasks, 14 common technology skills, and 35 common work activities. O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone Three, which indicates that a moderate amount of preparation and training would typically be required. Job Zone One occupations require the least preparation; Job Zone Five, the most.
Next, O*NET provides a facility to search for training for the occupation, both statewide and by zip code. These searches will yield public institutions where degrees and certificates may be obtained that are relevant to the occupation and provide links to the institutions’ web sites. It also lists national, industry-recognized certifications and local licenses pertinent to the occupation.
Moving a little further down on the page, O*NET provides wage & employment trends and a search tool for job openings. Wages are presented with a national median wage for the occupation, with searchable fields for state and local wages by zip code, and state employment trends. State wages are broken down by geography within the state and by low, median, and high quartiles.
Finally, moving back up the page, O*NET provides a link to apprenticeship opportunities for the occupation at Apprenticeship.gov. Clicking that link leaves O*NET and goes to Apprenticeship.Gov search results page for that occupation.
The first thing one will see on Apprenticeship.gov is either a headline that says “Registered Occupation” or, if the occupation is not apprenticeable, a blue banner indicating that it is not recognized as an apprenticeable occupation yet. Since Electrician is a registered occupation, Apprenticeship.Gov lists alternative job titles that may be used for the occupation.
Scrolling down the page, Apprenticeship.Gov lists Work Activities (similar to those presented on O*NET), and further down a link to the apprenticeship job finder page under the heading “Related Programs.” Narrowing down the search to a particular geography yields a list of apprenticeship programs with job descriptions and contact information for the sponsors.
We started our search with energy jobs, but one can begin with job title, bright outlook, industry, training requirements, work style, or many other factors to narrow down opportunities to those that match one’s career aspirations. Between them, O*NET and Apprenticeship.Gov provide a wealth of information that is easily accessible, searchable, and provides a broad range of options for occupation and career exploration. They are excellent public resources that should be part of anyone’s job search, especially for apprenticeships!