International Standard Classification of Occupations

The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) is an International Labour Organization (ILO) classification structure for organizing information on labour and jobs. It is part of the international family of economic and social classifications of the United Nations.^[1] The current version, known as ISCO-08, was published in 2008 and is the fourth iteration, following ISCO-58, ISCO-68 and ISCO-88.

The ILO describes the purpose of the ISCO classification as:^[2]

a tool for organizing jobs into a clearly defined set of groups according to the tasks and duties undertaken in the job. It is intended for use in statistical applications and in a variety of client oriented applications. Client oriented applications include the matching of job seekers with job vacancies, the management of short or long term migration of workers between countries and the development of vocational training programmes and guidance.

The ISCO is the basis for many national occupation classifications as well as applications in specific domains such as reporting of teaching, agricultural and healthcare workforce information.^[3] The ISCO-08 revision is expected to be the standard for labour information worldwide in the coming decade, for instance as applied to incoming data from the 2010 Global Round of National Population Censuses.^[4]^[5]

The ISCO-08 structure

The ISCO-08 divides jobs into 10 major groups:

Managers
Professional
Technicians and associate professionals
Clerical support workers
Service and sales workers
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers
Craft related trades workers
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers
Elementary occupations
Armed forces occupations

Each major group is further organized into sub-major, minor and unit (not shown) groups. The basic criteria used to define the system are the skill level and specialization required to competently perform the tasks and duties of the occupations.^[6]

Major group 1

Managers

11 Chief executives, senior officials and legislators
- 111 Legislators and senior officials
- 112 Managing directors and chief executives
12 Administrative and commercial managers
- 121 Business services and administration managers
- 122 Sales, marketing and development managers
13 Production and specialized services managers
- 131 Production managers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries
- 132 Manufacturing, mining, construction, and distribution managers
- 133 Information and communications technology service managers
- 134 Professional services managers
14 Hospitality, retail and other services managers
- 141 Hotel and restaurant managers
- 142 Retail and wholesale trade managers
- 143 Other services managers

Major group 2

Professionals

21 Science and engineering professionals
- 211 Physical and earth science professionals
- 212 Mathematicians, actuaries and statisticians
- 213 Life science professionals
- 214 Engineering professionals (excluding electrotechnology)
- 215 Electrotechnology engineers
- 216 Architects, planners, surveyors and designers
22 Health professionals
- 221 Medical doctors
- 222 Nursing and midwifery professionals
- 223 Traditional and complementary medicine professionals
- 224 Paramedical practitioners
- 225 Veterinarians
- 226 Other health professionals
- 227 Medical Assistant professionals
23 Teaching professionals
- 231 University and higher education teachers
- 232 Vocational education teachers
- 233 Secondary education teachers
- 234 Primary school and early childhood teachers
- 235 Other teaching professionals
24 Business and administration professionals
- 241 Finance professionals
- 242 Administration professionals
- 243 Sales, marketing and public relations professionals
25 Information and communications technology professionals
- 251 Software and applications developers and analysts
- 252 Database and network professionals
26 Legal, social and cultural professionals
- 261 Legal professionals
- 262 Librarians, archivists and curators
- 263 Social and religious professionals
- 264 Authors, journalists and linguists
- 265 Creative and performing artists

Major group 3

Technicians and associate professionals

31 Science and engineering associate professionals
- 311 Physical and engineering science technicians
- 312 Mining, manufacturing and construction supervisors
- 313 Process control technicians
- 314 Life science technicians and related associate professionals
- 315 Ship and aircraft controllers and technicians
32 Health associate professionals
- 321 Medical and pharmaceutical technicians
- 322 Nursing and midwifery associate professionals
- 323 Traditional and complementary medicine associate professionals
- 324 Veterinary technicians and assistants
- 325 Other health associate professionals
33 Business and administration associate professionals
- 331 Financial and mathematical associate professionals
- 332 Sales and purchasing agents and brokers
- 333 Business services agents
- 334 Administrative and specialized secretaries
- 335 Regulatory government associate professionals
34 Legal, social, cultural and related associate professionals
- 341 Legal, social and religious associate professionals
- 342 Sports and fitness workers
- 343 Artistic, cultural and culinary associate professionals
35 Information and communications technicians
- 351 Information and communications technology operations and user support technicians
- 352 Telecommunications and broadcasting technicians

Major group 4

Clerical support workers

41 General and keyboard clerks
- 411 General office clerks
- 412 Secretaries (general)
- 413 Keyboard operators
42 Customer services clerks
- 421 Tellers, money collectors and related clerks
- 422 Client information workers
43 Numerical and material recording clerks
- 431 Numerical clerks
- 432 Material-recording and transport clerks
44 Other clerical support workers
- 441 Other clerical support workers

Major group 5

Service and sales workers

51 Personal service workers
- 511 Travel attendants, conductors and guides
- 512 Cooks
- 513 Waiters and bartenders
- 514 Hairdressers, beauticians and related workers
- 515 Building and housekeeping supervisors
- 516 Other personal services workers
52 Sales workers
- 521 Street and market salespersons
- 522 Shop salespersons
- 523 Cashiers and ticket clerks
- 524 Other sales workers
53 Personal care workers
- 531 Child care workers and teachers' aides
- 532 Personal care workers in health services
54 Protective services workers
- 541 Protective services workers

Major group 6

Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers

61 Market-oriented skilled agricultural workers
- 611 Market gardeners and crop growers
- 612 Animal producers
- 613 Mixed crop and animal producers
62 Market-oriented skilled forestry, fishery and hunting workers
- 621 Forestry and related workers
- 622 Fishery workers, hunters and trappers
63 Subsistence farmers, fishers, hunters and gatherers
- 631 Subsistence crop farmers
- 632 Subsistence livestock farmers
- 633 Subsistence mixed crop and livestock farmers
- 634 Subsistence fishers, hunters, trappers and gatherers

Major group 7

Craft and related trades workers

71 Building and related trades workers, excluding electricians
- 711 Building frame and related trades workers
- 712 Building finishers and related trades workers
- 713 Painters, building structure cleaners and related trades workers
72 Metal, machinery and related trades workers
- 721 Sheet and structural metal workers, moulders and welders, and related workers
- 722 Blacksmiths, toolmakers and related trades workers
- 723 Machinery mechanics and repairers
73 Handicraft and printing workers
- 731 Handicraft workers
- 732 Printing trades workers
74 Electrical and electronic trades workers
- 741 Electrical equipment installers and repairers
- 742 Electronics and telecommunications installers and repairers
75 Food processing, wood working, garment and other craft and related trades workers
- 751 Food processing and related trades workers
- 752 Wood treaters, cabinet-makers and related trades workers
- 753 Garment and related trades workers
- 754 Other craft and related workers

Major group 8

Plant and machine operators and assemblers

81 Stationary plant and machine operators
- 811 Mining and mineral processing plant operators
- 812 Metal processing and finishing plant operators
- 813 Chemical and photographic products plant and machine operators
- 814 Rubber, plastic and paper products machine operators
- 815 Textile, fur and leather products machine operators
- 816 Food and related products machine operators
- 817 Wood processing and papermaking plant operators
- 818 Other stationary plant and machine operators
82 Assemblers
- 821 Assemblers
83 Drivers and mobile plant operators
- 831 Locomotive engine drivers and related workers
- 832 Car, van and motorcycle drivers
- 833 Heavy truck and bus drivers
- 834 Mobile plant operators
- 835 Ships' deck crews and related workers

Major group 9

Elementary occupations

91 Cleaners and helpers
- 911 Domestic, hotel and office cleaners and helpers
- 912 Vehicle, window, laundry and other hand cleaning workers
92 Agricultural, forestry and fishery labourers
- 921 Agricultural, forestry and fishery labourers
93 Labourers in mining, construction, manufacturing and transport
- 931 Mining and construction labourers
- 932 Manufacturing labourers
- 933 Transport and storage labourers
94 Food preparation assistants
- 941 Food preparation assistants
95 Street and related sales and service workers
- 951 Street and related service workers
- 952 Street vendors (excluding food)
96 Refuse workers and other elementary workers
- 961 Refuse workers
- 962 Other elementary workers

Major group 10

Armed forces occupations

101 Commissioned armed forces officers
- 1011 Commissioned armed forces officers
102 Non-commissioned armed forces officers
- 1021 Non-commissioned armed forces officers
103 Armed forces occupations, other ranks
- 1031 Armed forces occupations, other ranks

References

^ United Nations Statistics Division. List of international family of economic and social classifications, retrieved 29 March 2011.
^ International Labour Organization. International Standard Classification of Occupations, retrieved 29 March 2011.
^ World Health Organization. Classifying health workers: Mapping occupations to the international standard classification, retrieved 29 March 2011.
^ Hunter D et al. 2009. "Boundaries of the health workforce: definition and classifications of health workers." In: Handbook on monitoring and evaluation of human resources for health. Geneva, World Health Organization.
^ United Nations Statistics Division. 2010 World Population and Housing Census Programme, retrieved 29 March 2011.
^ International Labour Organization. Resolution Concerning Updating the International Standard Classification of Occupations. Adopted at the Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics, 6 December 2007.

External links

ISCO official website of the ILO.

[1] United Nations Statistics Division. List of international family of economic and social classifications, retrieved 29 March 2011.

[2] International Labour Organization. International Standard Classification of Occupations, retrieved 29 March 2011.

[3] World Health Organization. Classifying health workers: Mapping occupations to the international standard classification, retrieved 29 March 2011.

[4] Hunter D et al. 2009. "Boundaries of the health workforce: definition and classifications of health workers." In: Handbook on monitoring and evaluation of human resources for health. Geneva, World Health Organization.

[5] United Nations Statistics Division. 2010 World Population and Housing Census Programme, retrieved 29 March 2011.

[6] International Labour Organization. Resolution Concerning Updating the International Standard Classification of Occupations. Adopted at the Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics, 6 December 2007.

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