WHAT IS ESCO AND HOW DOES IT WORK
ESCO is the multilingual classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations.It identifies and categorises skills, competences, qualifications and occupations relevant for the EU labour market and education and training, in 25 European languages.
Online job portals normally use one classification system and one language. It’s difficult to exchange data between them, particularly when the systems are based in different countries. This makes it harder to find the right job across borders.
ESCO identifies and categorises skills, competences, qualifications and occupations in a standard way, using standard terminology in all EU languages and an open format that can be used by third parties’ software. It enables users to exchange CVs and job vacancies stored in different IT systems.
The multilingual ESCO classification is:
- composed of three inter-related pillars covering occupations; skills/competences; and qualifications;
- linked to relevant international classifications and frameworks, such as NACE, ISCO and EQF;
- available free of charge to all stakeholders through the ESCO portal (https://ec.europa.eu/esco)
WHO BENEFITS FROM ESCO AND HOW?
- jobseekers – have an easier time finding a job in another EU country, whether they’re students,career changers or currently unemployed.
- education/training institutions – are able to (1) describe the output of their qualifications with ESCO’s skills and competences terminology, making qualifications more transparent and (2) adapt their programmes based on feedback from the labour market.
- employers – have an easier time recruiting talent from abroad.
- online job portals – such as the EURES – European Job mobility portal are able to match people with jobs in all EU member countries, even when CVs and vacancy notices are in different languages.
ONLINE CONSULTATION PROCESS
ESCO covers all economic areas clustered in 27 sectors, 11 of which are already finalised. To develop the remaining 16 sectors, the European Commission will launch an online consultation on the 14th of October 2015. The participants will be presented with a draft of the content via the platform. The online consultation platform is a collaborative meeting space where sector experts can suggest and improve the content of ESCO. Experts can also endorse and rate content. The online consultation process will be open for 6 weeks.
Target Participants
European stakeholders with expertise in one economic sector and an understanding of the terminology and structure of occupations, skills, competences and/or qualifications within that sector.
Procedure
All interested stakeholders are invited to register via https://ocp.escoportal.eu
CONTACT:
ESCO Secretariat
Rue de la Science 14 B, Brussels
Email:empl-esco-secretariat@ec.europa.eu
The 16 economic sectors for online consultation:
- Business administration (BUSI)
- Chemical industry (CHEM)
- Construction (CONS)
- Education (EDUC)
- Energy and water supply, sewerage and waste management (ENER)
- Finance, insurance and real estate (FINA)
- Manufacturing of consumer goods except food, beverages, tobacco, textile, apparel, leather (GOOD)
- Manufacturing of electrical equipment, computer, electronic and optical products (ELEC)
- Manufacturing of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (META)
- Manufacturing of machinery and equipment, except electrical equipment (MACH)
- Manufacturing of transport equipment (MTEQ)
- Media (MEDI)
- Personal service -, administrative support service- and security and investigation activities (PERS)
- Public administration and defense and membership organisations (PUBL)
- Scientific and technical activities (SCIE)
- Wood processing, paper and printing (WOOD)
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