The O*NET system is a unique, powerful source for continually updated information on skill requirements and occupational characteristics. The O*NET system serves job seekers, students, businesses, and workforce investment and human resource professionals to help them make informed employment, training, and business development decisions. O*NET information on related occupational interests and work values helps the public to select career goals and develop education and training plans for work they are likely to find satisfying.

The O*NET system, using a common language and terminology to describe occupational requirements, supercedes the sixty-year-old Dictionary of Occupational Titles with current information that can be accessed online or through a variety of public and private sector career and labor market information systems. The O*NET system, which was significantly upgraded and improved in November 2003, includes the O*NET database, O*NET OnLine, and the O*NET Career Exploration Tools.

The O*NET database is a comprehensive source of descriptors, with ratings of importance, level, frequency or extent, for more than 950 occupations that are key to our economy. The new O*NET 5.1 database represents a major milestone, adding new data collected directly from job incumbents for over 50 occupations. O*NET descriptors include: skills, abilities, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, experience levels required, job interests, and work values/needs. Each O*NET occupational title and code is based on the most current version (2000) of the Standard Occupational Classification System. This ensures that O*NET information links directly to other labor market information, such as wage and employment statistics. A Spanish translation of the O*NET database, developed by a special team from Aguirre International, is now available. The O*NET database files are available as free downloads to public and private software application developers. Click on the Developer's Corner at www.onetcenter.org

O*NET OnLine is a web-based viewer that provides easy public access to O*NET information. With the O*NET 5.1 database, users have access to new and updated data unavailable before. Using O*NET OnLine, students, job seekers and workforce, business, and human resource professionals can: find occupations to explore, search for occupations that use designated skills, view occupation summaries and details, use crosswalks from other classification systems to find corresponding O*NET occupations, view related occupations, create and print customized reports outlining their O*NET search results, and link to other online information resources. O*NET OnLine offers universal accessibility through a single online site that is Bobby approved and 508 compliant. O*NET OnLine has screen reader compatibility built in and users can adjust font size on all screens. O*NET OnLine links directly to wage and employment outlook information through America's Career InfoNet. OnLine Help provides user-friendly information and can be accessed from any screen. Get O*NET OnLine at online.onetcenter.org

The O*NET Career Exploration Tools are a set of career exploration and assessment tools that help individuals (workers and students) identify their work-related interests and abilities and what they consider important on the job, so that they can explore occupations that match their interests, abilities, and preferences. The Career Exploration Tools include: (1) O*NET® Interest Profiler™ (paper-and-pencil and computerized versions); (2) O*NET® Work Importance Locator™ and Work Importance Profiler™ (paper-and-pencil and computerized versions, respectively); and (3) O*NET® Ability Profiler™. Users may download many of these materials by clicking on Career Exploration Tools at www.onetcenter.org