Transferable Skills Analysis

When it is used

TSA is used in earning capacity analysis, return-to-work planning, employability opinions in LTD matters, and post-injury vocational evaluation.

Step-by-step

1. Document the individual's complete work history with DOT or O*NET job codes and SVP (specific vocational preparation) levels
2. Identify skills, work fields, and Materials-Products-Subject Matter-Services (MPSMS) codes from prior occupations
3. Apply current medical restrictions and functional capacity data
4. Search DOT/O*NET for occupations matching retained skills within tolerated physical and cognitive demands
5. Filter results for labor market viability in the relevant geographic area using BLS OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage and employment data
6. Produce a list of occupations with SOC codes, wage data, and transferability logic

Data sources

• Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)
• O*NET OnLine
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
• Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system
• Skills inventories from published vocational references

How the analysis is performed

The analysis starts from the work history, not from the injury. Each job the person held is matched to its occupational code and read for four attributes: the exertional level the job required, the specific vocational preparation it demanded, the work fields it drew on (the methods and machines used) and the materials, products, subject matter or services the work dealt with. Those four attributes are the skill inventory. A job held for a few weeks contributes little; a job held long enough to reach its full preparation level contributes every skill it exercised.

Transferability is then a matching rule applied to that inventory. An occupation is a candidate when it uses the same or closely related work fields and materials at the same or a lower preparation level, so that a worker could move into it with orientation rather than new training. The documented restrictions are applied last: candidates whose strength rating, postural demands, environmental exposures or cognitive requirements exceed what the treating providers allow are struck. What survives is the list of occupations the person could still perform; what was struck, together with the jobs actually held, is the list the injury closed. Computer-assisted tools apply the same coding and matching rules and print the same two lists; the expert still reads every entry against the record.

The data sources and what each contributes

Three federal data systems carry the analysis, and each answers a different question. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles and its companion volume of selected characteristics supply the attributes the matching rule needs: strength, physical demands, environmental conditions, preparation time, work fields and materials for each coded occupation. O*NET supplies current task, skill and work-context descriptions and is updated on a rolling basis, so it confirms that an occupation identified through the older classification still exists in the described form and describes occupations that postdate it. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program supplies employment and wage estimates by occupation for states and metropolitan areas, which is how a surviving occupation is priced for the person's own labor market.

Because the two classification systems use different codes, a crosswalk connects each occupation to its standard occupational classification so the wage lookup lands on the right series. The report records which edition of each source was consulted and the reference date of the wage series, since a reader checking the analysis must be able to open the same tables.

How the result enters the report

The output is two tables and a rationale. The first table lists the prior occupations with their codes, preparation levels and strength ratings, so the reader can see the inventory the transfer draws on. The second lists the surviving occupations with the same attributes, the skills each shares with the prior work and the wage estimate for the relevant area. A short rationale explains each transfer in words: which prior job supplied the skills, why the demands fit inside the restrictions, and what orientation the person would need.

From there the list feeds two later steps. Where employability in the person's own market is contested, the surviving occupations become the targets of a labor market survey, which tests whether they are hiring. And the wage range of the surviving occupations, set against the earnings the person had before the injury, is the raw material of the earning capacity opinion that the forensic economist projects over the working life.

Limitations

TSA reflects theoretical transferability at a moment in time. It does not guarantee placement; job availability, hiring practices, and regional demand still apply. Older DOT data has known age-of-information limitations that practitioners address by cross-referencing with O*NET.

Admissibility

TSA is a widely used vocational methodology in federal and state courts when properly documented and sourced (Truthan & Karman, 2003).