Common Core Data

At the program level, the kind of data requested from operating agencies depends on what analysis is intended.

For the annual Workforce System poster, also known as The Matrix, we collect:

• • Participants served annually (per program year)
  • Total State Expenditures (per program year)
  • Total Federal Expenditures (per program year)
  • List of providers

For the less frequent Net Impact and Cost Benefit Study, we also collect:

• • Program cost per participant – Borne by the public
  • Program cost per participant – Paid by the participant

Data for workforce program evaluation must be at the program participant level, one record per participant, to allow for a thorough analysis. The Workforce Board will match program participant data with educational and employment records for an independent analysis of program outcomes.

A workforce program participant file consists of three parts:

1. The first set of data elements identifies the participant. From the personally identifiable information (PII) of SSN through date of birth to state of residency, all point to one person.
2. The second group contains the standard demographical data elements of race and sex as well as other characteristics that state and federal programs are focused on. All these elements, when needed, are assumed to be dated as of the program start date.
3. The third group are data elements on the program and the program participation.

Values for data elements noted by an asterisk (*) should be transferrable to the value sets given at the end of this document. If this crosswalk is not done by the data provider, the Workforce Board will do it with the assistance of data provider. The data elements paired with a {Y,N} are simply Yes/No questions. Please contact the Workforce Board with questions regarding the data elements.

The cohort described for a given data delivery is delineated by a stated reporting period. For the reporting period, we need all participants who left the program. What constitutes such an exit will differ between programs.

The common core data elements are:

• • Social Security Number
  • Last name
  • First name
  • Middle initial
  • Date of birth
  • Participant Address – Street
  • Participant Address – Zip Code
  • Participant Address – City
  • Participant Address – State *
  • County (Name or FIPS) of participant *

• • Race *
  • Hispanic Ethnicity, {Y,N}
  • Sex *
  • Disabled, {Y,N}
  • Learning Disability, {Y,N}
  • English Language Learner, {Y,N}
  • Prior Education *
  • Veteran, {Y,N}

• • Training provider
  • Training provider – County (Name or FIPS) *
  • Training provider – Workforce Development Council Area
  • Name of Instructional Program
  • Classification of instructional Program (CIP) *
  • Intended Occupation of the instructional program (SOC) *
  • Program Start Date
  • Program Exit Date
  • Completion, {Y,N,n/a}

More on codes (*)

County and state can be provided by spelling out the name or using the 5-digit Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). For the participant field the 3-digit FIPS is sufficient if data element state is also populated. For the training provider we ask for the 5-digit code. US Census Bureau: (https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2018/demo/popest/2018-fips.html)

Race and ethnicity are aligned with U.S. Census Bureau and the 1997 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards. Census: (https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html)

Sex and gender are similarly modeled after U.S. Census. If not specified by data provider, we will assume data provided is Sex. More about sex versus gender here: (https://www.census.gov/topics/population/age-and-sex/about.html)

Disability is also treated similarly as the U.S. Census, but we only ask for the binary Yes/No. More on how Census views disability here:  (https://www.census.gov/topics/health/disability/guidance.html)

Prior education refers to educational attainment upon program start. Again we use standards of the U.S. Census: (https://www.census.gov/topics/education/educational-attainment/about.html)

Classification of instructional Program (CIP) is a “…taxonomic scheme that supports the accurate tracking and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity.” We ask for the 6-digit code identifying the instructional program in question. The authority here is National Center for Education statistics (NCES). More background and the code can be found here: (https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/Default.aspx?y=55)

Intended occupation of the instructional program, if applicable, is requested by using “The (2018) Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system […] a federal statistical standard used by federal agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data.” The standard is provided by Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and is described here: (https://www.bls.gov/soc/). We ask for the 6-digit code or a set of values that can be crosswalked into the 6-digit code.

In our Workforce System Poster you can get an at-a-glance summary of Washington’s key workforce development programs and find how many individuals are served, by which administrative agency, and where the funding comes from.

In the Workforce Training Results we track the participant profile and the labor market outcomes for the state’s largest workforce programs. 

In the Net Impact Study you can find more on whether workforce programs lead to higher employment rates and higher wages among participants than those who did not participate in a workforce program.