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ESCO (2014) SEC 061
Creation Date: 24/11/2014
Last update: 03/12/2014
Developing Work Context in ESCO
1. Purpose of the document
In order for ESCO to reflect the realities of the labour market and thus increase its value to
stakeholders, it needs to capture more information that describes the vacancy for which a position
is published. One such information is the work context. In ESCO, work context refers to concepts
that can be used to describe the different specific settings that belong to the same occupation.
Work context can for example describe work places, types of company, environmental conditions,
products, technologies and business activities amongst others.
In order to capture this information in ESCO, the SEC is consulting the MAI on a number of
technical questions that would shape the approach to be taken on this issue. Therefore, the
purpose of this document is to:
- present the current scenario,
- discuss the general approach adopted by the SEC and
- consult with the MAI were a number of questions are put up for discussion.
2. Background
Work context can be considered as a concept used by employers to describe the setting in which
the employee would perform his tasks / functions. This work context is generally an integral part
of the job vacancy. This is not mandatory and there is no clear definition of what a work context
description should include in a job vacancy. Employers sometimes do not even detail the core
skills and competences needed for the job, but just give a high level description of the work
context. Since there is no specific standard for the description of the Job vacancy and employers
generally develop the description of the vacancy on free text. Different online portals have
different attributes for the description of a job vacancy.
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The work context gives a clearer picture of the job itself in the job vacancy and thus helps the
employer to attract the right candidates that are fully aware of the scenario. This increases the
matching accuracy between the Job vacancy and the candidate. By providing this information, the
employer is also minimising the risk that newly recruited candidates leave the job due to their
incompatibility to the work setting. The work context makes the occupational profile more
precise, and thus, employers will have better support during the research to develop the Job
vacancy. Work context can be used as a means of filtering to find more accurate concepts.
On the other side of the coin, this is very useful information for the jobseeker as having a better
picture of what to expect once he / she is on the job. This information could result in the
preparation of a more targeted CV, increasing the chances for employability. Work context is also
important for the job seeker during the search for a job as an added filter together with preferred
location, type of contract, whether full time or part time and salary. This will help the job seeker to
have more accurate search results and focus on those vacancies that match the requirements of
the jobseeker.
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As an example, Figure 1 below shows the work context for the position of a Waiter from the
EURES portal.
Figure 1 – A vacancy highlighting work context in the job description.
2.1. Current state of the skills pillar in ESCO
As it currently stands, the skills / competences / knowledge in ESCO are distinguished by
"essential" and optional" on one side and "sector specific", "occupation specific", "cross sector"
and "transversal" on the other. These skills categories are not directly linked to any specific work
context, however the Occupational profile may be different to a certain extent due to a different
work context. For example, the skills of serving wine in a 3-star Michelin restaurant would be
somehow different than the ones in a pub.
Table 1 below is an example of how work context would affect the choice of skills requested by
the employer. The example was chosen from the draft Blue print for a Waiter and it clearly shows
the separation of the skills (both essential and optional) pertaining to a specific work context.
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Occupation Waiter
Work Context Skills / Competences
Wo
rk C
on
ten
t
spe
cifi
c sk
ills
-
Pu
b
Prepare and serve drinks
Handle payment
Take payments for bills
Take food and drink orders
Skill
s ac
ross
dif
fere
nt
wo
rk
con
text
incl
ud
ing:
Eve
nt
cate
rin
g,
Arrange tables for special events
Prepare service trolleys
Advise guests on menus for special occasions and events
Prepare and maintain food service areas
Greet guests and accompany to tables
Table 1 – Skills from the occupational profile of a Waiter that can be different within different work context.
The ESCO guidelines make it clear that skills that are dependent on work context should be listed
as "optional" skills:
'Essential skills ' are those skills that that are usually required when working
in an occupation, independent of the work context or the employer .
'Optional' refers to skills that may be required or occur when working in an
occupation depending on the employer, on the working context or on the
country.
Figure 4 – Definitions of "essential" and "optional" skills. An extract from the ESCO guidelines.
3. Review of current approach
The Commission has sub contracted the development of the work context. The approach adopted
was based on the analysis of several websites and documents that handle work context. The
contractor selected a few work context groups that could be applied for all sectors. Following that,
the contractor inserted specific work context units/terms that were applicable for the selected
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occupations. The results of this first exercise in the work context can be seen in Annex 1 and
Annex 2, which demonstrate the work context scenario for an occupation from each of the
Healthcare and Trade sectors. They contain group names which are the same across the sectors
but the units/terms can vary per sector and subsector.
These draft work context examples will be discussed with the MAI on how the final version should
look like, as referred to Section 4.4.
4. Requested Technical Advice from MAI
4.1. Options for collecting the data:
The collection of the data to define the different work contexts for each occupation can be done in
several non-mutually exclusive ways:
Via web crawling (big data analysis) – This is an automatic method that extracts
keywords about work context from real job vacancies. The most common categories for
work context for an occupation are captured and listed as such.
Manual analysis based on real data (JVs) – Through this method, a random selection
of CVs of a particular occupation are analysed to extract the different work context for that
occupation.
Editorial work by taxonomists (desk research) – Through this method, the
taxonomists would perform a desk research by analysing other sources including ROME
and national classifications to extract the different work contexts for an occupation.
Via Web crawling and Manual analysis:
Reflect the real labour market situation, based on
actual content of job vacancies;
Easier to get validation from stakeholders as it
reflects the necessities of the sector.
Via Web crawling and Editorial work by
taxonomists:
All combined:
Produces different work context for different
sectors;
More resources are needed to develop and
maintain;
Different level of details in the work context.
Editorial work by taxonomists alone:
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Addresses the need to make sure that there is a
geographical representation of the work context
concepts.
Does not guarantee it represents the current
labour market data.
Via Web crawling:
High costs.
Manual analysis (only):
A lot of resources needed to ensure a
representative sample of the data is gathered and
analysed.
4.2. Options for structuring the data
Once the data has been gathered using any process or a combination of the above processes from
in Section 4.1, it will be important to structure this data. This can be done in several ways,
however only one method can be selected
Using the same approach as the ROME classification - that is to pre-define formal
categories of work context that should be the same for all sectors. Figure 5 below shows
the different categories used by ROME.
Figure 5 – Representation of how ROME addresses work context.
A simple list of "keywords" – In this way, the different work contexts are compiled in a
simple list per sector. This can be visualised, as for example under the work context unit
section within the Annexes.
A list of keywords, collected in different domains – This is a categorised list of work
contexts by sectors, sub- sectors or individual occupations which are tailor made. A good
example in this case would be the categorisations for the work contexts for Veterinarians
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would be: 1) medical specialisms, 2) places of employment, 3) medical treatments and 4)
animal group, etc.
Same approach as the ROME classification:
Based on an already existing method;
Brings consistency and structure in the attributes to
the occupation;
Easier for SREFs to link Work Context to
Occupation.
A list of keywords, collected in different domains:
Gives flexibility to each sector / sub sector to have
a more tailor made categorisation.
Same approach as the ROME classification:
Less flexible as it would have a fixed structure;
A list of keywords, collected in different domains:
Might give rise to endless discussions within SREFs
as they do not agree with the pre-defined
categories.
Not necessarily based on real terminology of job
vacancies
Simple list of "keywords":
Creates confusion and is not create any structure
The MAI is invited to discuss these approaches and advise the Commission on the best approach
for describing the work context.
4.3. Should it be mandatory?
In the implementation of the work context in ESCO, should the work context field be made
mandatory? Should it be mandatory / optional for all, or this is limited to some occupations and
not others? Linked also to this question, is there a specific minimum number of work context that
an occupation should have attributed to it? Moreover, should this be implemented for ESCO V.1?
If mandatory, it creates consistency and makes
content richer.
If mandatory, then more work needs to be done for
V0.1 SREFs where data is almost final. SREFs need
to review the skills within each occupation and
categorise whether "essential" or "optional" based
on whether they belong to a particular work
context. This is time consuming and might have an
effect of delivery for V0.1 and V0.2;
If optional, than this would lead to some
inconsistencies within the data. If for some OCC,
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work context is to be mandatory, then SEC would
need to identify which are the characteristics of
OCC where work context is mandatory. This might
prove very difficult and confusing for SREFs;
Having a maximum number of work contexts linked
to an OCC may reduce flexibility and would risk
leaving important work contexts out due to a
specific limit.
4.4. Comments on the draft work context
The MAI Committee is invited to provide feedback to the Commission on the draft work context in
Annexes 1 and 2.
5. Next Steps
Depending on the consultation with the MAI, the ESCO SEC will evaluate and act accordingly. The
most fundamental questions to implementation are whether this is mandatory and whether it
should be implemented for ESCO V.1. One issue that merits consideration is the fact that since
some of the sectors have their content almost at the final stages and have had their data signed
off by the MAI, it will mean that the ESCO SEC will have to work retro-actively in order to rectify
this action.
The results of the consultation with the MAI will be the basis of a set of guidelines that the ESCO
SEC will prepare for the SREFs and content creators to enable them to choose the work context for
each occupation. If necessary, the ESCO will prepare an implementation plan and present it to the
MAI in the next meeting.
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Annex 1 – Healthcare sector – work context
OG OCC Work context group Work context unit
Human healthcare
nurse
Place of employment
hospitals
health clinics
patient's home
aged care organisations
nursing agencies
doctors’ offices
daycare centers
medical equipment and supplies manufacturers
mental health facilities
military bases
family planning clinics
poison control centres
rehabilitation centres
AIDS hospices
prenatal and maternity clinics
ambulatory surgery centers
centers for nursing research
ambulance and helicopter transport services
schools
Size of business
minute/micro <10
small <50
medium <250
large <1000
Physical Work Conditions
indoors
spend time standing/walking
cope with stress, human suffering and emergencies
work in confined spaces
work on weekends, holidays, nights, long shifts
work alone with patients
work with sharp instruments
work in noisy areas
exposed to infectious diseases, bodily fluids
exposed to chemical substances (latex, waste anaesthetic gases, medication, sterilizing agents)
exposed to radiation and lasers
exposed to violence
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exposed to serious traumatic events
exposed to musculoskeletal injuries from patient handling activities: slips, trips, and falls
exposed to occupational skin disorders
Type of business
public
private
self-employed
Social services social worker
Place of employment
general and psychiatric hospitals
hospices
nursing homes
rehabilitation facilities
assisted living facilities
home health agencies
prisons
chronic care facilities
personal care homes
non-governmental organisations
community mental health centers
children’s aid agencies
correctional institutions
welfare administration agencies
schools
private practice offices
community services centres
social planning councils
governmental agencies
universities
juvenile detention facilities
Size of business
minute/micro <10
small <50
medium <250
large <1000
Physical Work Conditions
indoor
outdoor
spend long time walking/standing
spend time traveling
exposed to violence
work with people who are emotionally or mentally unstable
work on weekends/holidays/evenings
work alone with social services users
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cope with stress, human suffering and emergencies
exposed to serious traumatic events
exposed to infectious diseases
exposed to sprains and strains associated with lifting and repetitive tasks
Type of business
private
public
self-employed
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Annex 2 – Trade – work context
OG OCC Work context group Work context unit
Renting and leasing of motor vehicles
booking agent
Place of employment
car rental companies- in airports, train stations, busy city areas; global, national, regional or local operators
car dealerships
Size of business
minute/micro <10
small <50
medium <250
Physical Work Conditions
indoors
work on weekends/holidays
spend time sitting
Type of business
private
Retail trade promotions demonstrator
Place of employment
supermarket
shopping centre
department or discount stores
retail stores
coffee shops
trade shows
fairs and festivals
Size of business
minute/micro <10
small <50
medium <250
Physical Work Conditions
spend long time walking/standing
work on weekends/holidays/ long shifts
outdoor
indoor
Type of business
private
Wholesale trade purchaser Place of employment
purchasing or procurement departments
hospitality companies (hotels)
large industrial organisations (in agriculture, metalurgy, petroleum)
manufacturing companies
hospitals
department stores
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small boutiques
chain stores
Size of business
minute/micro <10
small <50
medium <250
large <1000
enterprise >1000
Physical Work Conditions
indoor
extended periods of time viewing computer monitor
exposure to dissatisfied individuals
work long hours, including on weekends/before holidays
may include traveling
spend time sitting
Type of business
private, public
Categories of products
clothing
electronics
agricultural products
metal products
fuel
tobbaco
Etc…