Project 1: The “all-important job training analysis” project

Unlike other services like transport, we don’t track every single time somebody uses a job training course or accesses a program to be an apprentice or intern. Yes, colleges and universities do have information on who is taking which courses, but identifying who is getting trained for what type of job might be tough.

No single number will give you a complete picture of the situation. But by gathering multiple data sources and tracking them over time, you should be able to get an idea of how much job training is accessible in your community. Here’s your list:

• School districts: They may have data on students in need of various forms of support to apply to colleges or vocational ed programs.
• Domestic violence programs: Some may keep data on their residents seeking job training support. Unlike the government, they’re not necessarily obligated to give you the data, but they probably will.
• Child welfare data: While not easy to acquire, there may be a way to assess data on parents needing support with finding a job.
• American Community Survey: The ACS is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about the United States and its people. Information from the survey generates data that help determine how more than $675 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each year.

While not perfectly straightforward, if you get these numbers, you should be able to tell if job training accessibility in your community is going in a good or bad direction.

Imagine a future where all residents have a job training pass — a plastic card or mobile app with a barcode — that could be used for all forms of job training programs. Now imagine that an artificial intelligence program analyzes this data from all county residents to identify high and low use and where gaps in services exist, offering recommendations for fixing gaps