How system modernization is helping Idaho mitigate unemployment
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The Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses is leveraging a new web-based portal to make it easier and quicker for people to obtain professional licenses and enter the workforce.
While rural unemployment rates have recovered from the pandemic — reaching 3.6% in 2023 from a high of 11.4% during the pandemic — many challenges remain for residents in rural areas to finding and maintaining employment.
The disparate geography and infrastructure, for instance, are spread thin and pose obstacles to people with limited transportation options. Rural locations can also impact their access to adequate internet services, educational opportunities and employment prospects. Those challenges can also hinder rural residents’ ability to leverage the very government services aimed at addressing those needs.
Ultimately, there is a clear need for government agencies in rural communities to meet residents where they are, one Idaho official told Route Fifty. One way to do that is through innovating online processes for better service delivery to get residents the assistance they need.
“Modernizing and innovating government processes is essential for ensuring that government services meet the evolving needs in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world,” Russell Barron, division administrator for the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, wrote in an email to Route Fifty. “As people increasingly expect faster, more efficient and more accessible services, it’s critical that government agencies embrace innovation through technological solutions to deliver on the public’s expectations.”
That’s why the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, or DOPL, has adopted FastCore software to streamline the state’s transaction and licensing services, a move aimed at placing more people in highly needed occupations like agriculture and healthcare.
With the new web-based portal, the agency’s 11 licensing systems were consolidated into a central, one-stop shop to “significantly reduce overhead costs for individual contracts for each of the previous systems,” Barron said.
The modernized system also eliminates “the complexity and inefficiencies of dealing with multiple systems, eventually leading to quicker processing times for both the Division and licensees,” he said.
DOPL has only had the technology for about six months, according to Barron, but authorities have noticed considerable improvements in efficiencies already. Previously, certain license applications had to be submitted through physical mail, but now people can share their applications online and DOPL can initiate the review process on the same day, he explained.
The FastCore portal also reduces staff administrative burden, such as creating and reviewing reports. Plus, Barron said DOPL now only needs to train that staff to understand one system instead of 11 separate ones. The modernized system has also improved communication services among DOPL staff and customers by offering email and text notifications for licensing applications.
DOPL is still gathering metrics to measure the system’s performance, but “early feedback suggests that the system is already contributing to faster transaction processing and is helping the state serve more individuals with greater efficiency,” Barron said.
“In the long term, this consolidated system will provide better service to the public, which is a win for both taxpayers and licensees,” he said. “In short, the ROI is not just financial — it’s about improving service delivery and ensuring a more efficient, responsive government.”
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