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Minimum Wage Increases | Upgrade to SKIES Work Readiness and Employment Plans Seeking Merger | What is a SKIES Business Expert?
Minimum Wage Increases in January 2006 An email went out on behalf of Employment Security Department’s WorkSource Operations Division regarding minimum wage increase. Effective January 1, 2006, all job orders must conform to the state minimum wage set at $7.63 an hour. SKIES will establish an edit to reflect the change accordingly. In addition to the email, information detailing the wage increase was provided from Washington State, Labor & Industries.
“We attempted to move the 10g upgrade to SKIES forms over the December 17th weekend, but had a few technical difficulties that prevented us from completing full implementation” stated Bob Lencioni, SKIES System Architect. “We were however, successful with implementing the upgrade the evening of December 20th”. “There were a few bumps in the road, however, we are currently working on those isolated issues as they arise” continued Lencioni. This upgrade to the SKIES Application servers provided users with two Version 3 enhancements, Spell Checker for Job Order Descriptions and Timing Out features. The SKIES Technical team is currently working on having the availability of Spell Checker to users who reside outside the firewall. For additional information on the Version 3 enhancements go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies. Documentation is located under Change Control Board/Version 3 Enhancements.
Work Readiness and Employment Plans Seeks Merger “The Work Readiness and Employment Plans merger has been approved and is currently under development” states Jon Tran, SKIES Business Analyst. SKIES Version 3 enhancement #123 requests the combining of the Work Readiness and Employment Plans whereas #119 merges the Goals and Objectives tabs into the Services tab. “The business experts that have participated in documenting these enhancements have indicated that although the feature won’t require a significant functional change, it will involve a different business process for some areas” continues Tran. The SKIES State Training Coordinator, Kris Moritz, has contacted local training coordinators inquiring about training needs. “I hope to receive responses from the local training coordinators on how we can support their training needs”. For information regarding this feature contact Kris Moritz at kmoritz@esd.wa.gov.
What is a Business Expert? We have been asked questions as to the role of a business expert. So, what is a Business Expert? A Business Expert is a user of SKIES. They have knowledge of program policies and local business processes and how those policies are applied within their respective offices.
"The SKIES Change Control Board Members have identified some direct users of SKIES to participate as a Business Expert" states Rachel Johnston, Business Systems Support. "We have involved users throughout the development of version 3 and value their participation" added Johnston. These Business Experts provide user perspective on the recommended features to accurately document the business need. "The information that the Business Experts provide will be documented in the Business Requirements. From that, the Functional Requirements will be written," states Johnston. "Business Requirements serve as a communication document between Business Experts, SKIES Business Analysts and the SKIES Change Control Board. Functional Requirements serve as the communication piece with our developers. These documents provide a common understanding of modifications to SKIES so that Version 3 will accurately meet business need” replies Johnston. Business Experts will participate in a variety of ways; teleconferences, e-mail, and face-to-face meetings depending on the requirements being addressed. It is pivotal that feedback is received from selected business experts in order to continue SKIES Version 3 development efforts. If you need additional information contact Rachel Johnston at rjohnston@esd.wa.gov.
November 23, 2005 In October, Kris Moritz, SKIES State Training Coordinator, delivered training to newly recruited trainers in Spokane and Benton Franklin WDAs. Kris also presented refresher training to Tri-County WDA Trainers at the special request from John Strong, Tri-County Training Coordinator. The refresher training included implemented changes that involved Version 3 Enhancements, approved change requests, and SKIES Additional Priorities changes. “I’ve received many questions about the new job matching features and used this opportunity for trainers to practice and ask more questions about the updates to SKIES” said Moritz. During the training sessions Moritz reminded trainers, “Users should call the SKIES Help Desk when there is an issue with the SKIES system, i.e. response time issues, clocking, and centralized password resets. When there is a training issue (how to do something), Users should contact their local trainer, training coordinator, utilize the on-line Staff User Guide, or contact me at moritz@esd.wa.gov or 360.438.4114 or contact Sarah C. Wilson at sawilson@esd.wa.gov or 360.438.4006.” If your Local Training Coordinator is interested in SKIES refresher training they can contact Moritz. Moritz stated, “Refresher training can be customized for each WDA. A two-day session will encompass all updates to SKIES and will assure that other questions are answered. Jane Field, Labor Market and Economic Analysis, presents a half day session on how to conduct a good O*NET search. At the end of the O*Net session users will better understand how to code job listings, job descriptions, assist seekers with interview questions and infomercials. It’s surprising how users have forgotten parts of the original training and need to know that there is User support available. All you have to do is just call us.” More SKIES Reports Released! During the month of October, four new Job Order reports were released. These reports will help Local Management staff that manage SKIES (WA) Job Orders at the Office level. All four reports are located in SKIES under Reports/Management Reports/Local Management Reports. The HELP option located next to the report drop down list will offer complete documentation for all four reports. The reports are as follows: Job Order Referral Activity Summary report This report pulls referral summary information on Job Orders that are created within a specified time frame. Job Order Referral Activity Detail report This report pulls referral detail information on a specific Job Order Number. Job Order Placement Activity Summary report This report pulls placement summary information on Job Orders that are created within a specified time frame. Job Order Placement Activity Detail report This report pulls placement detail information on a specific Job Order Number. Within the next few weeks, there will be a second version of these reports released. The second version will include an Average Minimum Wage at Referral on the Job Order Activity Summary report and an Average Wage at Placement on the Job Order Activity Placement report. Currently, the SKIES Reports Team is working on reports that provide information regarding Job Seeker Services with both a Summary and Detail version. SKIES Version 3 Update Two SKIES Version 3 enhancements were moved into production this month, the Job Order>Match Seeker search criteria selections and the ability to select a seeker by entering the SSN through the Job Seeker>Core Services>Basic screen. There is a few more job matching SKIES Version 3 enhancements that we anticipate being complete by the end of the year. The second phase of the ability to select the next seeker by entering the SSN through the Job Seeker>Core Services> Basic form will involve the same capability. The capability will be applied to the Job Seeker>Seeker Service, Employer>Employer Information and Employer>job Order forms. These features will be implemented into production soon with detailed information prior to its release. For more information contact Rachel Johnston, SKIES Business Manager at rjohnston@esd.wa.gov September 2005 This edition presents:
SKIES users can now conduct a keyword search from Job Seeker to Job Orders, instead of being limited to searching for Job Orders based on an O*NET code. SKIES users identified the business need to conduct specific keyword searches for their job-seeking customers to available Job Orders. This business need was made a part of the Job Matching functionality identified through SKIES Version 3 Enhancements. The Seeker to Job Order Keyword Search to Job Title/Job Description SKIES Version 3 Enhancement was implemented the first week of September. This functionality provides SKIES users the ability to conduct a keyword search for job seeking customers to Job Orders. The Keyword search function will search against both the Job Order’s Job Title and Job Description. For more information on how to conduct a keyword search go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ Job Match Feature “O*Net Family or Multiple O*Net Selections” Implemented in September SKIES users identified a need to be able to conduct a job match using more than one full O*Net Code. The Job Match: To Seeker by O*NET Family or Multiple Individual O*NET Selections allows the user to perform a job match by being able to use an O*Net Family or multiple O*Net codes. When a user utilizes this type of job match the O*Net codes selected search against the Job Seekers’ Employment History, Desired Employment Job Titles or both. This provides users with additional options of conducting a Job Match through SKIES. For more information on how to Job Match by O*Net Family or Multiple Individual O*Net Selections go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ Common Measures Hits SKIES The first phase of changes to SKIES to accommodate federal performance “Common Measures” will be effective October 3, 2005. SKIES system changes were necessary in order to comply with US Department of Labor’s Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 28094 “Common Measures Policy”. “This is another method for looking at the employment and training activities as a system rather than program by program, said Peggy Zimmerman, Business Systems and Performance Unit, and this should enhance our system integration efforts”, she continued. The reporting of these measures impacts Workforce Investment Act (WIA) WIASRD report, Wagner Peyser ETA 9002 & VETS 200 reports and Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) TAPR report. The second phase of changes to SKIES are expected to be in production before June 2006. These changes are specific to the WIA youth program and include Numeracy and Literacy. Information regarding the functional changes in SKIES went to all SKIES Users on Thursday, September 29, 2005. Staff from the Employment Security Department’s WorkSource Operation Division and Employment and Training Division is working together to develop additional educational materials relating to common measures. These materials will be made available as soon as possible. If you have suggestions on training needs, methods of delivery or questions please contact Ken Pugh by e-mail at: KPugh@ESD.WA.GOV, Pam Pannkuk, ppannkuk@esd.wa.gov or M'Lissa Carson, macarson@esd.wa.gov Reports! Reports! Reports! When a user looks at the variety of reports available, it can be very confusing. Many times it will appear that the numbers from one report are different than another report for the same activity. And, it turns out, those numbers are different and here’s why. We have three general types of reports that are being used across the state: 1) Case Management reports that are on-line queries through the SKIES production database. The information in these queries is real time; 2) Management Reports that can be accessed through the SKIES application but are actually run from a reports server that is updated nightly; and 3) Consolidated Management Reports System that can be accessed through a website (only if you are within the state’s firewall) and is run from a server that refreshes the information weekly or in some cases monthly. The variety in the numbers can be pretty substantial when the time frames are different. And even though once the reports are printed, they appear to be “just a report”, always check to see if the report came off the Case Management on-line query, the Management Report, or from the CMRS report. For more details related to reports and what is available, please go to http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ or contact Elise McKnight at emcknight@esd.wa.gov August 26, 2005 This edition presents: Production Updates for the Month of August! SKIES Reports Update E-Learning for Read Only in SKIES Change Requests-Employer Survey Contact Readers who know individuals interested in receiving Forecast should contact Peggy Zimmerman at pzimmerman@esd.wa.gov to have them added to the distribution list. Production Updates for the Month of August! There have been several updates made to the SKIES system for the month of August. For Version 3 updates, the Employment Placement Information Maintenance tab now allows the update of information. Another enhancements made for job matching includes the choice to match a job order to a job seeker by using an ONET family or Multiple ONET codes instead of just one ONET at a time. Future enhancements will include the ONET family or Multiple ONET job match choice when finding job orders for job seekers. An additional enhancement will be a Job Order Keyword search feature that looks at job order job titles and/or job descriptions. SKIES Reports Update During the month of August, two new Youth reports were released. They were the Youth Skill Goals Activity by Location and the Youth Skill Goals Activity by Contract reports. These reports were developed in response to a need for youth program activities. Along with the implementation of the report is a complete HELP document that will assist users in understanding the detail of the report. Currently, the SKIES Reports Team is working on reports that provide information regarding Job Order Referral Activity and Job Order Placement Activity with summary and detail versions of both. These reports are currently being programmed and are due to be released in September. The team is also working on reports that provide information regarding Job Seeker Services with summary and detail versions. E-Learning for Read Only in SKIES Training stepped into the future with TutorPro and Dino the dinosaur. Several months ago in an article in the Forecast, Kris Moritz, State Training Coordinator, announced a web based, self-paced, interactive tutorial was being developed. So you ask what is a web based, self-paced, interactive tutorial? Users access TutorPro on the web, inside the firewall. Users go through the training at their own speed. The tutorial is interactive which means it operates the same as the production environment. The Read Only role is available and being tested in WorkSource Spokane, Port Angeles WorkSource, and Wenatchee WorkSource. Moritz and trainer Sarah Wilson provide desktop support for any problems. Testers will complete the training, make notes, and provide feedback. Moritz said, “I am looking for all feedback, good and bad, so we can create a user friendly alternative to basic classroom training.” Moritz added, “Currently, the training is only offered inside the firewall but we are working on getting TutorPro out there so Users outside the firewall can also access this training.” The Read Only training meets the minimum requirements for a User who needs Read Only access. However, anyone who has had SKIES Staff training and is a little rusty may benefit by reviewing screens and basic information about SKIES. The Read Only does not satisfy the minimum requirements for Staff role. Anyone interested in testing TutorPro, please send an e-mail to Moritz at kmoritz@esd.wa.gov <mailto:kmoritz@esd.wa.gov> with the name, phone number and Office name. If you need more information about TutorPro, contact Kris Moritz @ 36.438.4114 or send an e-mail. Change Requests -Employer Survey Contact An Employer Survey Workgroup convened to develop strategies that would improve the response rate of employers to the customer satisfaction survey. One of the strategies was to make some changes to the SKIES application. The Olympic Peninsula representative of the SKIES Change Control Board, Kathy Gross, championed those changes. The SKIES Change Control Board approved the recommendations that included an additional employer service, a specific employer survey contact for employer services, and the ability to display definitions of employer services in the application. The additional employer service has been put into production. The specific employer survey contact for the employer services will be in production on Monday, August 29th. When the Employer Survey Workgroup has finalized the definitions they will be added to the application. This edition presents: Let the Job Matching Begin! Recording of Mass Hires New J-Initiator Implemented on August 1, 2005 Let the Job Matching Begin! Several SKIES Version 3 Enhancements for job matching were moved into production this month. “The complexity of the job matching features were a challenge for the SKIES business and technical teams” states Peggy Zimmerman, Business Systems Support. “They have done an excellent job in meeting that challenge without any compromises” continues Zimmerman. “The ability to utilize text search has been a long awaited feature” states Jennifer Jaske, Business Systems Support. “The business experts that participated with these Version 3 Enhancements were very candid in their response to what users need when conducting a job match” continues Jaske. The first set of job matching enhancements moved into production was the ability to perform a job match using keyword(s) within the job match section of both seeker and employer. The second set released was the ability to conduct a key word search through the binoculars. For detail information on this topic go to the Inside SKIES website at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ccb/enhancements.htm Recording of Mass Hires The ability to record mass hiring in SKIES was available for users on July 12, 2005. “Users needed the ability to record a high number of hire information in SKIES. Whether its for the Puyallup Fair or Agriculture Jobs the feature was clearly needed” states Rachel Johnston, Business Systems Support. “The ability to record seeker hires for employers that hire in large quantities will provide staff the means to efficiently record the vital placement information.” continues Johnston. This enhancement includes the referral information that is recorded individually for a group of hires for the same job order. For detail information go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ccb/enhancements.htm New J-Initiator Implemented on August 1, 2005 "The NEW J-Initiator 1.3.1.18 has been available on the SKIES web site under "downloads" since May, 2005” states Bob Lencioni, SKIES System Architect. “An automated software update push has been successful for offices in the field using the State Government Network (SGN)” continues Lencioni. Offices not on the SGN have been manually updated by local area network administrators instead of an automated process. The SKIES application servers will be updated to use this new J-Initiator the weekend of July 30th and July 31st. For the users who have not had the updated version installed on their computer ahead of time, the download will happen automatically during the users first log on session on or after Monday August 1st. This also applies for any computers that are used for SKIES training. For all users, there will be a "Security Warning" box that appears. Click on the "Grant Always" button to have the message appear only once. For more detailed instruction go to the Inside SKIES website at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ccb/enhancements.htm June 24, 2005 This edition presents: What’s a Tutorpro? Common Measures SKIES Reports Update Update on New J-Initiator Readers who know individuals interested in receiving Forecast should contact Peggy Zimmerman at pzimmerman@esd.wa.gov to have them added to the distribution list. What’s a Tutorpro? “Tutorpro is a type of software that allows a student the capability of training at their own pace” states Kris Moritz, SKIES State Training Coordinator. “I have just completed the Read Only role curriculum in Tutorpro and look forward to its release to users in July” continues Moritz. “We are planning on piloting the software in a few offices. The Read Only role can serve as a refresher for those staff that have already received SKIES training but haven’t used the system on a regular basis. However, it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for Staff Role if you haven’t received Staff Role Training”. The self-paced tutorial software supports the student with diverse learning needs. The program provides hands-on and visual activities that prompt the student to complete each phase. If you are interested in learning more about Tutorpro, contact Kris Moritz at www.rmoritz@esd.wa.gov Common Measures “I think we have a good list of items that will need to be added or tweaked in SKIES to meet Common Measure reporting requirements”, said Nancy Burkhart, Business Systems Support and lead for Common Measure tracking. In a recent meeting, representatives from WIA and Wagner Peyser programs discussed definitions, additional drop down items, and other issues related to Common Measures. Although USDOL has asked for Common Measures reporting to begin July 1, 2005, some of the changes to the SKIES application will take a few weeks and others may take several months. “With reduced staffing and the extent of the changes, work will progress as soon as possible but not as soon as we would like. At the same time, Common Measures will require some changes in the local business processes and the program and policy shops will be working with local areas to identify those changes.” SKIES Reports Update The SKIES Reports Team is currently working on reports that provide information regarding Youth Programs, Job Order referral activities and placement information. “We have had to rewrite the business requirements for the Youth Program’s report due to changes that were identified from the business experts during User Acceptance Testing” states Elise McKnight, Reports Business Analyst. “We now have frozen requirements and anticipate the release of the Youth Program reports to occur in July” continues McKnight. For more information regarding SKIES reports go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ Update on New J-Initiator "The NEW J-Initiator 1.3.1.18 has been available on the SKIES web site under "downloads" since May, 2005” states Bob Lencioni, SKIES System Architect. “An automated software update push has been successful for offices in the field using the State Government Network (SGN). Central office is our next step” continues Lencioni. The SKIES application servers will be updated to use this new J-Initiator in the near future. For offices not on the SGN, the update will need to be coordinated with local technical staff. This download option will be available through June and mid-July. Remember, the NEW J-Initiator (1.3.1.18) and the current J-Initiator (1.3.1.9) can reside together. It is not necessary to uninstall the current J-Initiator. Most users will not have sufficient permissions on their computers to download and install software. Should your permissions not allow you to download and install software, the software update business policy/process in your office does not allow you to update/install software, or that you are unsure, contact the LAN Administrator in your area. Please note that if you attempt to download software without the proper permissions, you will receive error messages or warnings. This does not mean that the downloading link is corrupt. May 27, 2005 SKIES Reports Update “We have moved five new reports into production in the month of May” states Elise McKnight, Business Systems Support. Each new report provides information ranging from Selective Service due dates, Eligible Non-US Citizen Expiration Dates and Job Order by Occupation information. The SKIES Reports Team is currently working on reports that provide information regarding Youth Programs, Job Order referral activities and placement information. Releasing these reports into production is planned to occur in the near future. For more information regarding SKIES reports go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ Three Change Requests Approved by SKIES Change Control Board Kathy Gross, SKIES Change Control Board Member-Olympic Workforce Development Council, provided members with three change requests identifying a need to assist efforts towards increasing the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scores for the Employer Customer Satisfaction survey for the state. These requests were a result of a collaborative team effort from the leadership of the Employment Security Department’s WorkSource Operations Division, West Region, and (former) Quality and Organizational Performance, Executive Directors of the Northwest, Olympic, and Pierce/Tacoma Workforce Development Councils. This team, the Comprehensive Customer Satisfaction Data Team (CCSDT) has developed a multi-faceted plan to raise satisfaction scores. Some of the strategies they developed require enhancements to the SKIES Application. The following change requests were presented and approved by the SKIES Change Control Board: Change Order 1: Survey contact for employer services- Create an Employer Survey Contact for manually recorded employer services. Each survey contact will require an employer contact name and phone number. Change Order 2: Add new employer service group- An “Employer Service” group will be added in SKIES called “Facilities Use”. · Change Order 3: Common Employer Service Definitions- Develop common definitions for the Service Descriptions in the Employer Services screen. SKIES Version 3 Enhancement Released “The ability to record an identical service for many Job Seekers at the same time was a must have” states Rachel Johnston, Business Systems Support. SKIES Version 3 Enhancement One Service to Multiple Job Seekers #61 (Track Record 1310) was moved into production this month. The form to record one service to many Job Seekers is in Group Service through the Job Seeker menu and accessible without the initial selection of a specific Job Seeker. For more information go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ Additional Priority for Employer Group A Moved into Production This change provides a method for the user to select an employer record that has a previously recorded service or a previously posted Job Order. In addition to this feature are optional data fields to enter date parameters for the recorded service or posted Job Order. These features have been identified as a business need for the Employer Review that provides an alternative method for the selection of an employer for the repeat employer customer. This functionality is currently accessed through Binoculars Search>Employer/Provider. For additional information go to the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ This edition presents: Impact of WorkFirst Cuts on SKIES SKIES and Go2 Interface Three WIA Reports Moved into Production Employer Review Feature Moved Into Production Tip of the Month Impact of WorkFirst Cuts on SKIES WorkFirst counselors use SKIES to serve their customers with job referrals and job matches. These customers are automatically entered into SKIES through an interface with an application called E-JAS. With the reduction in funding for the WorkFirst program, there is a corresponding reduction in resources to SKIES. The way it works is based on the number of WorkFirst staff that are using SKIES. That percentage is calculated monthly and the funding support from WorkFirst pays its fair share. With the reduction in the number of staff using the system for WorkFirst, there is a reduction in the resources available for SKIES. The biggest impact for SKIES will be in our Reports and Development areas. We have had part time contract developers working with Reports and with Development. Their other part time work was specifically for WorkFirst. These contractors will be leaving no later than the end of June. In addition, the Business Systems Support Unit has lost 6 FTE. Many of the positions had been held vacant in anticipation of the cutbacks. The net result will be slower development time for the application and for reports. We will all continue to work closely with one another to ensure your business needs are supported and addressed. Please bear with us if our response time is lengthened. SKIES and GO2 Interface SKIES and Go2 Business and Technical teams are currently working together on moving new code for Go2 Version 7 into testing in the next couple of weeks. “This starts the second phase of testing,” states Peggy Zimmerman, Business Systems Support. “Testers from both SKIES and Go2 will begin the review of these new features and are excited about moving forward,” continues Zimmerman. The third phase of the SKIES and Go2 Interface will be comprised of fully integrated testing and will require extensive efforts from both SKIES and Go2. Other application modifications, such as Version 3 enhancements and “additional priorities” will be on hold until the interface testing is complete. For more information go to <http://www.wa.gov/esd/go2ws> Three WIA Reports Moved into Production The WIA Activity Tracking by Contract, WIA Participant Summary by Contract and the WIA Demographic by Contract reports were made available on April 25, 2005. If you recall, the reports by contract was the last phase of having contractor information available for Workforce Development Areas (WDA) that have chosen to use this feature in SKIES. “We want to thank the business experts for their participation in completing these reports” states Elise McKnight, Reports Business Analyst. “They have assisted us throughout this whole process and we want thank them for responding to the endless emails, user acceptance testing efforts and their continuous commitment in producing a useful product” continues McKnight. For more information go to <http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/> Employer Review Feature Moved into Production Employer Review Group A (Track Record 1496), the ability to return more specific search results, is a feature that is now available in SKIES. This feature provides the user with the ability to locate Employer records originating from TAXIS and/or records that are created by a SKIES User. This feature will reduce the amount of time a user spends in fining a commonly used Employer record. The changes in the Employer Review fall under our “additional priorities”. These are in addition to our Version 3 enhancements. For more information go to the SKIES web site at <http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/> Tip of the Month Are you looking for WA job orders? Here’s one way to do it. Use a percent sign after the WA in the job order number field in the binocular search. This will return only those job orders that begin with WA. Questions? Call the SKIES Help Desk at 360.438.4690 or 1-800. 331.5650. Go2WorkSource.com Version 7 and SKIES Interface We are fast approaching the time when the current staff working on SKIES Enhancements and Additional Priorities will be focusing their attention on the testing efforts involved with the Go2WorkSource Version 7 and SKIES interface. “Staff have done an excellent job producing 27 Version 3 enhancements, producing Additional Priorities enhancements, and juggling multiple daily work. However, we are at a point where our focus to one priority is essential to the successful testing for the new Go2WorkSource Version 7 and SKIES interface” states Peggy Zimmerman, Business Systems Support. Once Go2WorkSource and SKIES testing commences there will be a decrease of enhancements integrated into production. This focused testing effort has been a part of the long-term project plan. “We aren’t going to totally stop the production of enhancements for SKIES Version 3. It’ll just slow down while we work on the interface testing and pick back up again afterwards!” states Peggy Zimmerman. Testing of the interface is scheduled to start in April and will continue until approximately June. The SKIES Team will continue to identify Version 3 enhancements that can be completed and moved into production during this time frame. SKIES Version 3 Enhancements There are currently 27 out of 51 SKIES Version 3 Enhancements released into production to date. The SKIES Team is currently working on: ¨ Enhancement #61-One service to multiple job seekers. ¨ #200(a) Job Match: Allow key word search (#325) ¨ #200 (b) Job Match: Make default search criteria BLANK ¨ #200 (c) Job Match: search by first two digits of ONET. ¨ #203 Job Match: Employer/job matching should include a selection to match on work site zip code. ¨ #340 Job Match: (a) Select multiple ONET Code to search by and (b) Can’t find enough ONET job titles. The following SKIES Version 3 Enhancements were moved into production in the month of March: ·#200 (d) (Part of #200)-User to select an O*NET Code different from that which is attached to the Job Order ·#93-Alphabetize Drop Down Boxes & LOVs ·#464 & #370-Military Service Yes or No question will also be available on first tab. For further information visit the SKIES web site at <http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/> Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) Database in SKIES “Before SKIES was implemented, we had identified changes in the system that needed to take place. We categorized these items as SKIES Additional Priorities. The TAA Database in SKIES is one of these priorities” states Peggy Zimmerman, Business Systems Support. The SKIES Business Team has been working on mapping the current business process of a TAA customer’s point of entry into the business system. “It has been a real eye opener of how many units across divisions assists the TAA customer” states Tiffany Ames, Business Systems Support. “We have had two meetings with business experts from WorkSource Operations Division, Employment and Training Division, Unemployment Insurance Division and staff that provide direct service delivery to customers assisting with the mapping process” continues Ames. Information regarding the scope of the TAA Database project in SKIES is available on the SKIES web site at <http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/> Job Matching On the Horizon In anticipation of Version 3 Enhancements for Job Matching in SKIES, we have provided users with information on the current job matching functionality and what users may expect in the future. “Business Experts who have participated in the process of documenting business use cases found this information to be quite valuable when reviewing what job matching means in their respective areas” states Jennifer Jaske, Business Systems Support. “The Business Experts felt that these documents would be beneficial for all users who are interested in job matching” continues Jaske. Both documents provide detailed information of job matching in SKIES. For more information click on the link provided <http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ccb/addpriority.htm> February 4, 2005 This edition presents: WIA Multi-Office Reports Employer Review Decisions and Changes SKIES Change Control Board Decision regarding Version 3 Enhancements Readers who know individuals interested in receiving Forecast should contact Peggy Zimmerman at pzimmerman@esd.wa.gov to have them added to the distribution list. WIA Multi-Office Reports The new Multiple Office option for the WIA/TAA Activity Tracking by Location, WIA/TAA Participant Summary by Location and the WIA/TAA Demographic by Location reports were moved into production and made available on December 6, 2004. “The availability of selecting these reports by multiple offices was a result of meeting with business experts during a report by contract meeting” stated Peggy Zimmerman, Business Systems Support. “Business experts believed that reports by multiple offices would serve those areas that will not use the “report by contract” feature,” continued Zimmerman. The SKIES Reports team continues to work on additional reports and anticipates the release of more reports into production as soon as they are available. For more information, check out the SKIES web site at http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies/ Employer Review Decisions and Changes On December 2nd 2004, the SKIES Change Control Board approved the recommendation for the scope of the SKIES Employer Review to incorporate Group A and Group B. They are as follows: Group A § Ability to return more specific search results. § Ability to assign multiple offices to single employer record. § Ability to search for employers that have existing employer services and/or job order. § These enhancements directly impact the ability to locate and select an employer record. Group B § Add data fields and displays that identify the staff person who last updated the record and the date for these SKIES screens. § Job Order Description § Job Order Contact § Employer Info Profile § Employer Info Benefits/Contact “We are pleased to announce Group B features were placed into production on February 2, 2005” stated Peggy Zimmerman, Business Systems Support. “We will continue to work on Employer Review Group A features, ” continued Zimmerman. Before the implementation of SKIES Employer Review Group B, updates that were made and saved were not displayed. The ability to view the last maintenance User and the last “save” date are enhancements that provide key information for serving customers. For details on Employer Group B, please see: <http://www.wa.gov/esd/skies>. SKIES Change Control Board Decisions regarding Version 3 Enhancements Information was provided to the SKIES Change Control Board on January 19, 2005 regarding three version 3 enhancements. The SKIES team brought forward issues with three version 3 enhancements that needed decisions from the board prior to moving forward with development. Version 3 enhancements #464 and #470 identified a business need to move the required question of Military service from the second tab to the first tab of the basic form. However, enhancement request #464 also included the request to require staff to enter military service dates when the military service question is answered yes. After much discussion, the SKIES Change Control board opted to not require staff to complete the veteran validation, which includes the military service dates and concluded that completion of the veteran validation will remain based on business process and will not be required by the application. Version 3 Enhancement #328 Seeker Select Search Criteria by WDA, Office Name, or Staff Person is a request for SKIES Users that is currently available in the Binoculars Search. Binoculars Search may be performed by WDA, Office Name, or Staff Person assigned to the record. Therefore, the SKIES Change Control Board reviewed this request and confirmed an earlier decision that the existing functionality of the Binoculars Search meets the requested enhancement. Version 3 Enhancement #215 Job order status cannot be manually changed from closed to open. This decision was presented to the board from board member Marie Brillante identifying that the decision is to leave the current CLOSED job order functionality as it is since staff already can adjust the closing date, update the status of referrals, and create a new order by copying and updating the required elements. In order to assist staff in working with closed job orders the on-line query named Job Orders with Close Date in Next 24 will allow the ability to enter a date range. Currently, staff can find information on job orders that are closing in the next 24 hours. This change allows the staff to query the job order closure based on a date range. This will meet the need of staff to review job order closures and make adjustments as necessary. The change to this on-line query is currently in development.
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News
2005