OccuCoder V1.0

OccuCoder is the ITSC’s Software Application developed to assign Occupational codes to jobs, resumes and UI Claims. Occucoder provides accurate coding of jobs and individuals. Occucoder relates informally described occupations to standard occupations as published by the O*Net Center. OccuCoder uses the latest O*NET database to best determine the correct occupational code when classifying job seekers or job orders. Using OccuCoder makes it easy to match job seekers and job orders to an occupation in the O*NET-SOC system, for suggesting alternative occupations for a person's skill set, for research purposes, and other uses are also possible. O*NET is designed to be the nation's most comprehensive resource of occupational information, with a database system that includes 275 descriptors about each occupation.

Occucoder is suitable for use in personal interactions, automated systems, and for help desk style support.

Occucoder is designed to use Web Services that allow integration of the coding service into existing applications. Examples include online UI claims filing and resume building or job search registration tools. Although OccuCoder is a Web Service System integrated into other applications and tools ITSC has created an online browser Web Application to demonstrate how OccuCoder works.

To try it out, just enter a job title, and optional job description, into the browser form at link
http://occucoder.itsc.org/occucoder/occucoder-ajax.html, and follow the on screen instructions.

This demo has been tested with the following web browsers :

• Firefox*
• Internet Explorer 7
• Internet Explorer 8
• Chrome
• Opera

*If the browser in use is Mozilla Firefox, configure the browser to permit the embedded script to run:

1. Go to the URL about:config
2. Type signed into the filter box
3. Find the entry named signed.applets.codebase_principal_support.
4. If the value of this entry is not true, double-click it, whichwill change it to true.

Features

• Accepts query with job title and optional description, returns O*Net-SOC standard occupations matching the query.
• Accepts partial O*Net-SOC Occupation Code, returns all matching occupations.
• Guaranteed to return a match with highest score when the submitted title exactly matches an official O*Net-SOC title.
• Returns version identifier for O*Net-SOC database in use.
• Logs queries on a per-query or global basis.
• Database version configurable via a text file.
• Default values for optional query parameters configurable via a text file.
• Simple query and response message formats.
• Backwards compatible with O*Net-SOC Autocoder V1.x and V2.x, with the use of an available helper application.

OccuCoder V1.0 DATA SHEET 

Switching from AutoCoder to OccuCoder

Should you start using Occucoder?

• Yes, if you already use Autocoder 1.x or 2.x (as supplied through the U.S. DOL).. Occucoder is the upgrade path for the Autocoder 1.xx and 2.xx series. Autocoder 2.x is supported only through version 12 of the O*Net-SOC taxonomy. Occucoder supports the version 14 taxonomy, and new features will be added only to the Occucoder series.


• Yes, if you want to use a simpler interface than the SOAP interface provided by Autocoder 1.x and 2.x. Occucoder accepts simple HTML forms for input, and outputs the standard ATOM XML format. A compatibility adapter lets you keep using existing software that already works with Autocoder 1.x and 2.x.
  Occucoder's interface functions without error when any input parameters are missing. It also ignores any unknown parameters. This simplifies development of new software that will use its services.


• Yes, if you want to be able to change default input parameters (like the number of codes to return) by simply editing a configuration file. All input parameters except title and description have sensible defaults that you can configure. This will often allow you to avoid including them in your input interface.


• Yes, if the new capabilities will let you create more flexible applications. New capabilities not mentioned so far:
  • Find complete occupation codes by inputting partial codes (e.g., "11-1");
  • When you input an exact O*Net-SOC title, you can be sure that the corresponding code will always be number one in the results.

O*NET Occupational Coding – Summary Product Info

Autocoder

Autocoder is the ITSC's previous generation of automated occupation coding software. It has the same core functionality as Occucoder, but lacks some of the latter's newer capabilities. The ITSC no longer supports taxonomy updates for Autocoder. Autocoder has a different, more complex web interface than does Occucoder.

Occucoder

Occucoder is the ITSC's current generation of automated occupational coding using the O*NET-SOC occupation codes. Occucoder operates as a service on an agency's intranet, to support UI claims filing, self-coding by UI applicants, job order matching, UI help desk operations, UI research, and a variety of other related uses. An Occucoder server has a simple web-based interface, and can be easily updated to use new versions of the O*NET-SOC occupation taxonomy as they are released.

Occucoder is cross-platform software, and runs on Windows XP and higher, and on modern linux operating systems such as Red Hat, SUSE, and Ubuntu. It can be run without significant loss of perfomance in a virtual machine.

Occucoder-Autocoder Adapter

Occucoder-Autocoder Adapter is a software application that adds an Autocoder interface to Occucoder. Using this adapter, agencies can use existing Autocoder-compatible software to connect to an Occucoder server. The use of this adapter allows an agency to preserve existing investments in Autocoder-compatible software and still make use of updates to the O*Net-SOC taxonomy. This approach also provides an upgrade path for future applications to make use of the additional functionality of Occucoder.