2: The Use and Impact of Labour Market Information

Think about how you currently use LMI in your day-to-day practice. You may use it to:

  • Help clients understand job opportunities
  • Clarify training options
  • Interpret labour market trends
  • Compare occupations
  • Explore future possibilities

Now consider WHY you use LMI. Do you see evidence of it contributing to the success of your clients? If so, in what ways? In your experience, what makes LMI useful and effective? Under what conditions does it work well and contribute to better career decision-making?

Many CDPs have stories about clients who gained confidence or clarity once they had accurate information. Others have seen the opposite: clients overwhelmed, misled, or discouraged by poorly interpreted LMI. What leads to these opposing outcomes when integrating LMI into service delivery with clients?

Impact of LMI

Findings from a Canadian research study and literature review led by the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF) suggest that when an individual’s career development needs are assessed, and the LMI provided is organized and tailored based on those needs, it has a significant positive impact on a variety of career development outcomes.

But, it is much less clear how LMI is typically used in practice – whether it is through encouraging individuals to go online to find LMI themselves, offering LMI via a Resource Centre or using standard LMI tools for all clients. How LMI is presented, used, and supported with clients directly influences how well they feel served and supported by the information.

LMI as a Tool

There is a massive amount of LMI accessible today, and much of it is very good. But even the highest quality LMI isn’t useful in and of itself. It can even be harmful if it distracts people from what they really need or points them in a direction that is not a reasonable fit for their interests, values, skills, or capacity.

LMI is a tool that can support the career development process – but only insofar as it provides answers to key questions that, left unanswered, hold people back from making informed decisions and taking positive action. In short, LMI is powerful, but only when it is personalized and responds directly to an identified client need.

We will next explore how LMI can be used in this way connecting it to Employability Dimensions.

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