ESCO is the multilingual classification system for European skills, competences, qualifications and occupations. occupations. Its maintenance and further development is managed by the European Commission, in particular DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. It provides a common reference terminology, that can enhance the way the labour market functions, help to build an integrated labour market across Europe and help to bridge the communication gap between the world of work and the world of education and training.
It provides a common reference terminology that can help to build an integrated labour market across Europe by bridging the communication gap between the world of work and the world of education and training.
ESCO works as a vocabulary which describes, identifies and classifies occupations, skills, and qualifications relevant for the EU labour market and education and training. Those concepts and the relations between them are published as Linked Open Data, meaning that ESCO can be understood by electronic systems. This allows different online platforms to use ESCO for services like matching jobseekers to jobs on the basis of their skills, suggesting trainings to people who want to reskill or upskill, mapping of employees’ skills within organisations, career guidance, self-assessment tools etc.
ESCO has been developed as part of an emerging Semantic Web in the labour market and the education and training sector. The Semantic Web aims to transform the internet from a collection of documents, such as job vacancies, CVs and training courses, into a web of interlinked, standardised and reusable data. This data can then be fed into tools such as job matching platforms, HR systems, career guidance tools or statistical applications.
The ESCO classification is available in different formats (SKOS-RDF, CSV) in order to allow users to integrate it into their applications and services. Additionally, ESCO provides a Web Services API and a Local APi, so that applications and web services can query the classification in real time.
Why develop ESCO
Today, more than ever, skills matter. The crisis has speeded up the pace of change in our economies and societies. Employers are increasingly concerned with what workers know, understand and are able to do in practice, rather than focusing on formal qualifications. Additionally, there is a growing understanding of the importance of transversal skills and competences, such as communication skills, the ability to learn and a sense of initiative.
Public and private employment services respond to this trend by gradually changing from an occupation-focused to a skills and competence-oriented approach. Some employment services have thus begun to complement their existing occupational classifications with skills lists.
At the same time, education and training systems are moving away from input approaches. These approaches used to describe learning by using input factors such as the time spent on learning and where the learning had taken place. In line with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), Member States have developed National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs). In this process, they followed a learning outcome approach. Thus, they describe qualifications with the knowledge, skills and competences that those qualifications lead to.
This shared focus on skills provides an opportunity to bridge the communication gap between the worlds of education and employment. It will help to increase the relevance and responsiveness of education and training provision and to improve the matching of supply and demand on labour markets.
In the framework of the New Skills for New Jobs initiative (2009), a group of independent experts recommended to develop a common language between education/training and the world of work. This recommendation was affirmed by Europe 2020 (“A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”) as well as by the conclusions adopted by the Education Council on 13 May 2010 which called for a common language and an operational tool. Furthermore, the first principle of the European Pillar of Social rights refers to access to quality education, training and lifelong learning for achieving full participation in our society. Finally, the European Skills Agenda proposes a vision and concrete actions to promote lifelong learning and empower individuals to acquire the skills they need for both work and life. These needs are addressed by ESCO.
The main building blocks of ESCO
The current version of ESCO (ESCO v1.0, launched in July 2017) contains approximately 3 000 occupations, 13 500 skills/competences and 11 500 qualifications. Each ESCO occupation and skill or knowledge concept is available in 27 languages (the 23 official EU languages plus Arabic, Icelandic and Norwegian). Overall ESCO is structured in three pillars:
- Occupations;
- Skills/competences and knowledge; and
- Qualifications:
Each pillar has its own structure. ESCO's occupation structure is based on ISCO, the International Standard Classification of Occupations. ESCO’s skill/competence and knowledge structure is a single all-embracing hierarchical framework containing four distinct sub-classifications: 1) knowledge; 2) skills; 3) attitudes and values; and 4) language skills and knowledge.
Added value
The following examples of practical applications illustrate the added value of ESCO:
- Online job portals use ESCO for CVs and job vacancies. Jobseekers thus describe their skill set using the same terminology as the job vacancies. This enables job matching on skills level.
- Learners use ESCO to build personal skill profiles and to record their learning outcomes in applications.
- Education and training institutions use ESCO to improve planning and curriculum development. ESCO allows to react quicker on emerging skill needs.
At European level, ESCO provides for a closer matching of jobseekers to jobs through the EURES Job Mobility Portal.
Joint effort with all stakeholders
Shaping ESCO into a tool which meets practical needs and is up-to-date, could only be done from the bottom-up through the active involvement of all stakeholders in the labour market as well as in the education and training area. Therefore, stakeholders have been and are still constantly consulted and encouraged to participate and contribute to the maintenance and further development of ESCO.
Stakeholders concerned by ESCO include:
- Public and private employment services
- Implementers of ESCO (platforms implementing ESCO in their services)
- Social partners
- National education, training and qualification authorities and institutions
- Sector skill councils
- Human resources management, recruitment and career guidance professionals
- Statistical and research organisations
- Promoters of other taxonomies and classification systems
- International organisations such as ILO and OECD
ESCO is maintained and further developed in an open and inclusive way. Besides those directly involved in the management and operational structures, a broad range of interested stakeholders are able to keep abreast of information and contribute their views. The Commission is monitoring closely the rollout of ESCO in the labour market, including the take-up by private stakeholders and by different consortia as part of EU-funded projects. The Commission is in contact with these stakeholders (implementers) on an ongoing basis via pro-active outreach and requests for meetings by the implementers.
ESCO governance
The Commission, supported by external consultants, Member States and all other ESCO stakeholders, is constantly working on the conceptual and technical maintenance and further development of ESCO. In this effort, the Commission has established a management structure to develop ESCO together with its stakeholders. It consists of the following management bodies:
The ESCO Secretariat consists of DG EMPL and is supported by contractors. It is advising on conceptual and methodological issues, providing administrative support and managing the maintenance and implementation of ESCO.
The ESCO Member States Working Group is composed of representatives from Member States on employment and education and training affairs and representatives from European social partners. It advises and supports the Commission on the implementation and development of ESCO and ensures its interoperability with the national classification systems on employment.
The ESCO Maintenance Committee consists of technical classification experts. It contributes to the development and quality assurance process.
Owner/Contact Information
Owner
Name
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion – Unit E2 Skills and Qualifications.
Type
Supra-national authority
Contact information
Name
Dimitrios Pikios