International Standard Classification of Occupations

The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) is an International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

(ILO) classification structure for organizing information on labour and jobs

Labour economics

Labor economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the market for labor. Labor markets function through the interaction of workers and employers...

. It is part of the international family of economic and social classifications of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

. 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:

a tool for organizing jobs into a clearly defined set of groups according to the tasks
Task (project management)
In project management a task is an activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time. An assignment is a task under the responsibility of an assignee which should have a start and end date defined. One or more assignments on a task puts the task under execution. Completion of...

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

Health Human Resources

Health human resources — also known as “human resources for health” or “health workforce” — is defined as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health”, according to the World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006. Human resources for health are identified as...

information. 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 Census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

es.

The ISCO-08 structure

The ISCO-08 divides jobs into 10 major groups:

1-Managers
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
2-Professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

s
3-Technician
Technician
A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert...

s and associate professionals
4-Clerical support workers
5-Service and sales workers
6-Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers
7-Craft and related trades workers
8-Plant and machine operators, and assemblers
9-Elementary occupations
0-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

Skill

A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills...

level and specialization required to competently perform the tasks and duties of the occupations.

MAJOR GROUP 1

MANAGERS

11 Chief executives
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

, senior officials and legislator
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...

s
- 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
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

professionals
- 211 Physical
  Physical science
  Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences...
  
  and earth science
  Earth science
  Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
  
  professionals
- 212 Mathematician
  Mathematician
  A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
  
  s, actuaries
  Actuary
  An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide expert assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms ....
  
  and statistician
  Statistician
  A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
  
  s
- 213 Life science professionals
- 214 Engineering professionals (excluding electrotechnology)
- 215 Electrotechnology engineers
- 216 Architect
  Architect
  An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
  
  s, planners
  Urban planner
  An urban planner or city planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning/land use planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically...
  
  , surveyors
  Surveying
  See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
  
  and designers
22 Health professionals
- 221 Medical doctors
  Physician
  A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
- 222 Nursing
  Nursing
  Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
  
  and midwifery
  Midwifery
  Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
  
  professionals
- 223 Traditional
  Traditional medicine
  Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
  
  and complementary medicine professionals
- 224 Paramedical practitioners
  Clinical officer
  Clinical officers are health care providers who practice modern medicine. They practice independently but may be supervised by a physician in some settings....
- 225 Veterinarian
  Veterinarian
  A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
  
  s
- 226 Other health professionals
23 Teaching professionals
- 231 University
  University
  A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
  
  and higher education
  Higher education
  Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
  
  teachers
- 232 Vocational education
  Vocational education
  Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
  
  teachers
- 233 Secondary education
  Secondary education
  Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
  
  teachers
- 234 Primary school and early childhood teachers
  Early childhood education
  Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S...
- 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 Librarian
  Librarian
  A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
  
  s, archivist
  Archivist
  An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
  
  s and curator
  Curator
  A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
  
  s
- 263 Social and religious professionals
- 264 Author
  Author
  An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
  
  s, journalist
  Journalist
  A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
  
  s and linguists
  Linguistics
  Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
- 265 Creative
  Creative Arts
  Creative arts is the term used to describe different types of art. Specifically, to introduce fine art ideas, techniques, skills and media. It is generally used as an umbrella for Dramaturgy, Music , Graphic Arts/Cartooning, Performing Arts, Film and Publishing, Galleries and Museums and the Visual...
  
  and performing artists
  Performing arts
  The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...

MAJOR GROUP 3

TECHNICIANS AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS

31 Science and engineering associate professionals
- 311 Physical and engineering science technicians
- 312 Mining
  Mining
  Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
  
  , manufacturing and construction supervisors
- 313 Process control
  Process control
  Process control is a statistics and engineering discipline that deals with architectures, mechanisms and algorithms for maintaining the output of a specific process within a desired range...
  
  technicians
- 314 Life science technicians and related associate professionals
- 315 Ship and aircraft controllers and technicians
32 Health associate professionals
- 321 Medical and pharmaceutical technician
  Pharmaceutical technician
  Pharmaceutical Technician or Pharmaceutical Research Technician or Drug Technician is a job title for a laboratory assistant or research assistant employed in the pharmaceutical industry under the direct supervision of a physician, veterinarian, or scientist involved in the research and development...
  
  s
- 322 Nursing and midwifery associate professionals
- 323 Traditional and complementary medicine associate professionals
- 324 Veterinary technician
  Veterinary technician
  In North America, the principle paraveterinary workers are called veterinary technicians or veterinary technologists-Job description:Technical skills include:...
  
  s 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 broker
  Broker
  A broker is a party that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal...
  
  s
- 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
  Unlicensed assistive personnel
  Unlicensed assistive personnel is an umbrella term to describe a job class of paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living and provide bedside care — including basic nursing...
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
  Window cleaner
  A window cleaner is a person who maintains the cleanliness of windows, mirrors and other glass surfaces as a profession.-Profession:...
  
  , laundry
  Laundry
  Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
  
  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
  Manufacturing
  Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
  
  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 0

ARMED FORCES OCCUPATIONS

01 Commissioned armed forces officers
- 011 Commissioned armed forces officers
02 Non-commissioned armed forces officers
- 021 Non-commissioned armed forces officers
03 Armed forces occupations, other ranks
- 031 Armed forces occupations, other ranks

External links

ISCO official website of the ILO.