Earlier this year, the Workforce Innovation Center hosted our first quarterly Workforce and Talent Partner Convening of 2026 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland – Cincinnati Branch. A primary focus of the event was the Federal Reserve’s Occupational Mobility Explorer (OME), a data-driven tool designed to help job seekers, workforce professionals, and employers identify and visualize how overlapping skillsets can lead to upward mobility in career pathways across 600+ job titles in over 500 US locations.
A Data Driven Approach
The OME leverages data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in tandem with local labor market data to help users identify skills gaps across in-demand career paths and show how previously attained skills can transfer across occupations, highlighting opportunities for advancement into higher-paying roles. The Explorer also indicates education requirements for specific occupations and the projected growth rate of each industry, demonstrating the potential for mobility and presenting a roadmap for achievement.
Research from the Cleveland Fed emphasizes that many workers get overlooked when employers prioritize credentials over skills, even though they may already possess the capabilities needed to succeed. The OME addresses this with a simple but important approach: mobility is driven by skills, not titles. When employers and workforce development professionals center conversations on skills, they can open doors that job seekers may not realize exist.
OME: The Use Cases
The OME offers several practical applications for workforce professionals, educators, and employers:
- Workforce Providers: use in one-on-one sessions with job seekers to help identify careers of interest, transferable skills, and realistic next steps. Job seekers can start with their current role and quickly see a list of similar occupations that require overlapping skills but offer higher wages.
- Training Providers & Educators: align programs with real labor market demand. The tool highlights the specific skills employers request for different occupations, helping providers shape curriculum and training to match in-demand roles.
- Employers: Learn how skills-based hiring can help expand talent pools and fill critical roles by transitioning talent from adjacent roles into open positions.
Why This Matters for Greater Cincinnati
The tool also strengthens how we think about career pathways. Users can build step-by-step career maps that show not only a destination job but also the intermediate roles that help them gain the right skills along the way. This feature proves especially valuable for job seekers who may not yet qualify for their target role but can achieve it through intentional progression.
In practice, workforce partners can integrate the OME into workshops, coaching sessions, and employer engagement strategies. Pairing the tool with resources like skills-based resume builders and job search platforms can further support job seekers as they take action on the pathways they identify.
As the labor market continues to evolve, tools like the Occupational Mobility Explorer give our region a stronger, more informed approach to workforce development. By helping job seekers understand the value of their skills and how to build on them, we can support more residents in accessing family-sustaining careers while meeting the talent needs of employers across the Cincinnati region.
By: Jackson Fort
Coordinator, Workforce Innovation Center at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber
Sources:
- Opportunity Occupations and the Occupational Mobility Explorer Tool
- Occupational Mobility Explorer – Workforce Development Practitioner’s Toolkit
- Looking for Workers to Fill In-Demand Jobs? The OME’s Got You Covered – Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
- Webinar: How Fed Data Tools Can Inform Economic Mobility
