Case Study: Work and Income improves job seeker assessment with OPRA Psychology Group

Applied Research

Work and Income, New Zealand’s public employment and income support agency, needed a better way to assess job seekers and identify the risk factors associated with long-term unemployment. To support this challenge, OPRA Psychology Group was engaged to help design an assessment approach that could also guide the allocation of internal resources to the areas of greatest need.

OPRA Psychology Group developed a four-year risk assessment solution that included a theoretical model of unemployment, a large predictive validity study with over 5,000 respondents, a feedback model for job seekers, and a resource allocation framework for the employment service. The work resulted in Needs Based Assessment (NBA), a fully computerized self-assessment tool that has underpinned job seeker assessment at Work and Income since 1997, and led to ongoing advisory work for governments in New Zealand and British Columbia.

Work and Income

Marianne Dozci

Project Manager