World Database of Occupations - WISCO

The EurOccupations project (2006-2009) has developped a database with the most frequent 1,600 occupations occupational titles for EU countries, adding further digits to the ISCO-08 classification, and Job Descriptions and Job Content of 150 occupations. Browse the EurOccupations deliverables. Its partner WageIndicator Foundation has extended the translations to almost 50 countries in and outide Europe. Therefore the database has been renamed the World Database of ISCO Occupations (WISCO).

Data-collectors, experts on occupations and jobholders from all over the world are invited to use and to contribute to the WISCO Database of Occupations. Suggestions for improvements of occupational titles in a particular country/ language are welcomed and so are reflections on the search tree. Additions for new countries/languages are particularly welcomed.

Download the WISCO Database:

• English (Excel 2007 1.5 MB)
• Spanish (Excel 2007 1.3 MB)
  
• French and Dutch (Excel 2007 600 kB)
• Portugese (Excel 2007 520 kB)
• Russian (Excel 2007 2.3 MB)
• Master and other countries (xlsx 2.6 MB)

For further information about the WISCO Database contact prof. Kea Tijdens.

EurOccupations Database of Occupations

The EurOccupations project aimed to build a publicly available database containing the most frequent occupations for use in multi-country data-collection, through the Internet or otherwise. It covered eight EU countries, notably Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and United Kingdom. The database includes a source list of 1,594 distinct occupational titles within the ISCO-08 classification, country-specific translations and a search tree to navigate through the database.

EurOccupations Job Descriptions and Job Content

EurOccupations has investigated the similarity of occupations in eight countries for 150 occupations selected from the source list. The test focussed on job content, required skill levels, and competencies. The test was based on information gathered via existing databases and via experts from interest organisations and social science researchers. The database con¬tains job descriptions and tasks lists as well as expert ratings with regard to the frequencies of the tasks and the required entry qualification for eight countries and 150 occupations.

EurOccupations Tools

EurOccupations has developped several tools, among others a procedure for drafting new task lists, a procedure for expert data collection, a web-survey on occupations for experts, CASCOT software for coding job titles, a website to search tasks frequencies. In addition, it has produced research papers about the state-of-the-art of occupational classifications, the occupational structure in Poland, on social stratification, on gender and skill bias in the EurOccupations Database, and on the priciples underlying the design of the EurOccupations Database. Browse the EurOccupations deliverables. 

The information of this part of the database is online available at the Icares and EuOccupations website. Here the database can be consulted in many languages.

About EurOccupations

The EurOccupations project was a research project, funded from the European Union’s Framework 6 programme, in particular Research Area 3.2.2: Promotion and support for comparative research, methodologies and data generation. It was a so-called STREP priority 7, No FP6-028987. EurOccupations ran from May 2006 - May 2009. The Erasmus University Rotterdam, Department of Social Sciences, prof. Kea Tijdens, coordinated the project. All partners are listed here.

For further information about EurOccupations contact prof. Kea Tijdens or dr. Judith de Ruijter.