Workforce Development: How Technology Enhances Vocational Evaluations and Assessments

The future of the US workforce is changing, with the need to upskill and reskill as a major factor in retaining relevancy in the workplace. Now more than ever, companies and communities must focus on workplace development programs, offering classes and training that cover digital literacy, data literacy, and critical thinking. As technology rapidly changes, potential and current employees must stay abreast of current trends.

However, it can be challenging to ascertain where to focus workforce development. Rapidly changing technology makes it difficult to keep up with the latest advancements. High turnover rates mean that organizations can’t see the ROI of their investment. Skills gaps prevent organizations from understanding how to create a program that will benefit workers.

If your organization struggles with workforce development, step back and focus on improving vocational evaluations to define practices and procedures.

What is a Vocational Evaluation?

A vocational evaluation is a formal process to assess a person’s work-related skills, abilities, interests, and potential. By defining strengths and weaknesses, it gives the person a better understanding of their aptitude and skills. At the college level, it can help young people formulate career plans and goals based on their interests. For communities, it can help gauge the capabilities of the people in the area and better match them with employers. 

In a standard vocational evaluation, a trained expert:

• Implements standardized testing, interviews, and work samples.
• Studies past academic achievement, abilities, interests, work, and values.
• Provides recommendations for a suitable career path or employment option.

Vocational evaluations should be the first step to support workforce development. They identify strengths and weaknesses, highlighting skills gaps and pinpointing where organizations should focus their training. Additionally, they help formulate career plans, showing organizations where people would best match within their workforce long-term. This lowers costs related to turnover rates, which can be anywhere from 30% to 150% of the employee’s salary, depending upon the position.

Vocational Assessments for Workforce Growth

Some of the most common vocational assessments used for workforce growth include:

• Interest inventories such as the Strong Interest Inventory, Campbell Interest and Skill Survey, and Self-Directed Search (SDS) help people explore career options that match their interests.
• Aptitude tests such as the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT)and General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) measure abilities and skills related to specific occupations.
• Personality assessments such as Myers Briggs, Big Five, and 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire help individuals understand their personality and how that will affect their work.
• Skills assessments such as WorkKeys and Tests of Basic Adult Education (TABE) help employers understand an individual’s job-related skills and academic competencies.
• Situational assessments such as work samples and job tryouts provide hands-on experience to evaluate someone’s performance capabilities.
• Career values assessments such as the Career Values Scale and Work Values Inventory pinpoint people’s values and priorities for work.
• Achievement tests such as the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement measure someone’s overall skills and knowledge.
• Cognitive ability tests such as the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test and the Wonderlic Personnel Test outline a person’s mental abilities relevant to job performance.

None of these evaluations should be the sole factor for workforce performance but combined to create a comprehensive picture.

Innovations in Vocational and Workforce Evaluations

Modern technology creates data-driven, specific vocational evaluations that allow organizations to make positive changes. This started with computerized assessment systems such as CareerScope and Occupational Access System (OASYS), which combine multiple assessment types for a comprehensive evaluation.

Here are a few more technical advancements in vocational evaluations that have become more popular in the past few years.

AI Tools in Workforce Development

Automation is used by 67% of businesses at some level worldwide. The rise of generative AI has increased the speed at which organizations can understand data sets from vocational evaluations. AI-powered assessment tools can quickly find patterns in data that may have taken hours for a human to glean, shortening the process of connecting individuals with the correct position. AI tools can consider hundreds of datasets, creating a more precise matching.

Rather than having a proctor conduct every assessment, some software tools offer AI chatbots, instead. This imitates the same feel of messaging with a human, yet it’s done automatically.This can help organizations cut costs while still acquiring the same helpful information. 

Workforce Development Software

Another major innovation from modern technology is workforce development software. This powerful tool helps organizations implement state and local programs. With a focus on skills training, job placement, and career advancement, the software tracks outcomes in a comprehensive system.

Customizable dashboards allow organizations to see a bird’s eye view of all client needs. Digital vocational assessments within the software store data all in one place so organizations can see the bigger picture of the programs needed. Workforce development software like PlanStreet offers robust reporting tools compliant with federal performance indicators. You can use standard forms based on common workforce metrics and goals, or create your own based on more specific needs.

Virtual Reality (VR Simulations)

Many vocational schools have started implementing VR simulations to help people explore careers in real-world scenarios. While this is not as popular yet in the commercial sector, there is a wide range of applications. VR could allow people to try out an occupation before doing it, to see if they like the work or if it’s not interesting to them. 

Organizations could test people’s skills in certain areas. For example, a medical student could practice surgery in a VR setting and receive feedback on their technique. HR departments can use evaluations through VR to mirror on-the-job challenges to see firsthand how potential applicants respond. This type of real-time data helps employers choose the best fit for their company.

Modernizing Vocational Assessments With Technology

When considering vocational assessments, there is much to improve with these exciting new technologies. Let’s explore a few ways where that’s possible. 

Data-Driven Insights

Data-driven companies are 23 times more likely to top their competitors. While you don’t have to worry about competitors in vocational assessments, One of the key ways to improve a vocational assessment is with data and analytics from workforce development software. When you store all of your information in one place, analytics tools can pull out patterns and insights your team wouldn’t have been able to find otherwise. This improves outcomes through:

• Real-time labor market insights: Organizations can see which roles are increasing in popularity, and offer skills workshops to fill them.
• Predictive capabilities: Past data can be used to assess a candidate’s success in a certain role.
• Reduction of bias: Because employers are looking at data sets, AI-driven assessments can prevent accidental hiring bias.

Remote Assessments

One of the biggest hindrances to completing a vocational assessment is accessibility issues. Those living with disabilities or who live in remote areas may not be able to come in person to take an assessment. Tech-driven vocational evaluations happen on a computer, meaning a person can do it from home. These assessments can also be tailored for each student, making them more accessible and providing meaningful results. 

Non-Traditional Data

AI systems can analyze alternative data sources like social media activity, work samples, and digital footprints to gain deeper insights into skills and interests. This helps organizations further understand the best role or career for someone within the community.

Personalization

71% of consumers expect companies to deliver a personalized transaction. With the rise of AI, tech-enhanced career evaluations can now be personalized to meet the needs of each person. Algorithms can change the difficulty of a test part-way through based on how the individual answered so far. Tests can be updated easily considering new job market trends thanks to robust data sets from machine learning models. Plus, AI-powered models can create hyper-specific personalized career recommendations based on a person’s interests and abilities pulled from data.

Workflow management

Emerging technology doesn’t just help the vocational evaluations themselves but the organizations that carry them out. Workplace development software offers workflow management tools to transform client and staff processes. Customizable client journeys populate tasks so that individuals always know the next step to take in the process. 

Robust collaboration tools allow seamless communication between organizations, job seekers, and employers through referral features. Software such as PlanStreet uses an AI rules-based engine to connect clients to recommended forms and services, cutting down administrative time for your staff.

The Future of Vocational Assessments With Technology: PlanStreet’s Workforce Development Software

Enhance your organization’s efficiency with PlanStreet’s premium workforce development software. Our scalable and remote-friendly platform features top-of-the-line security features, ensuring your client’s sensitive data is always safe. 

Our software was built to help you better empower your clients and community with tools such as:

• Client-focused needs assessments to help you determine the right services and programs.
• Educational resource access to help community members advance in their careers.
• Comprehensive reporting capabilities to implement actionable, data-driven decisions that create effective change.

Let us show you how we can customize our workforce development software to meet the exact needs of your organization and schedule a live demo with our team today.