Southwest

Top Ten O*NET Skills Needed for SW Washington Consortium's Fastest Growing Occupations Prepared November 2, 1999
*Ranking*	**ONET Skill Needed***	*Description of Skill*
1.	Product Inspection	Inspecting and evaluating the quality of products
2.	Equipment Selection	Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job
3.	Operation and Control	Controlling operations of equipment or systems
4.	Reading Comprehension	Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents
5.	Information Organization	Finding ways to structure or classify multiple pieces of information
6.	Problem Identification	Identifying the nature of problems
7.	Active Listening	Listening to what other people are saying and asking questions as appropriate
8.	Information Gathering	Knowing how to find information and identifying essential information
9.	Writing	Communicating effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience
10	Speaking	Talking to others to effectively convey information

Top Ten O*NET Knowledge Areas Needed for SW Washington Consortium's Fastest Growing Occupations Prepared November 2, 1999
*Ranking*	**ONET Knowledge Area Needed***	*Description of Knowledge*
1.	Public Safety and Security	Knowledge of weaponry, public safety, and security operations, rules, regulations, precautions, prevention, and the protection of people, data, and property
2.	Biology	Knowledge of plant and animal living tissue, cells, organisms, and entities, including their functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment
3.	Mechanical	Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, benefits, repair, and maintenance
4.	Food Production	Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting of food for consumption including crop rotation methods, animal husbandry, and food storage/handling techniques
5.	Production and Processing	Knowledge of inputs, outputs, raw materials, waste, quality control, costs, and techniques for maximizing the manufacture and distribution of goods
6.	Customer and Personal Service	Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services including needs assessment techniques, quality service standards, alternative delivery systems, and customer satisfaction evaluation techniques
7.	Law, Government and Jurisprudence	Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process
8.	English Language	Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar
9.	Computers and Electronics	Knowledge of electric circuit boards, processors, chips, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming
10.	Mathematics	Knowledge of numbers, their operations, and interrelationships including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications

Projections of SW Washington Consortium's Top Ten Occupations Based on Growth Rate Prepared November 2, 1999
*Occupational Title*	*Est. Employment*		*Growth Rate*	*Total Growth*	*Annual*
*Occupational Title*	1998	2008	*Growth Rate*	*Total Growth*	Growth	Replace- ments	Openings
Slaughterers & Butchers	33	497	1.4061	464	46	1	47
Data Processing Eqp Reprs	57	139	0.1439	82	8	2	10
Systems Analysts	705	1514	0.1148	809	82	4	86
Paralegals	75	147	0.0960	72	8	1	9
Computer Scientists, NEC	70	133	0.0900	63	7	0	7
Human Services Workers	198	376	0.0899	178	17	3	20
Medical Assistants	348	640	0.0839	292	29	6	35
Personal/Home Care Aides	152	279	0.0836	127	13	3	16
Medical Records Technicians	179	320	0.0788	141	14	4	18
Crane & Tower Operators	97	171	0.0763	74	7	2	9