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| Basic principles of an occupational classification
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Any classification of occupations is based on principles for (a) classification unit(s), (b) classification variable(s) and (c) similarity criteria.
Classification unit(s)
Occupational classifications generally classify jobs. Jobs can be:
- past, present or future jobs;
- paid employment jobs;
- self-employment jobs;
- jobs without incumbents (vacancies);
- shared by more than one person (job sharing)
Paid employment jobs are those jobs where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts which give them a basic remuneration which is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work (this unit can be a corporation, a non-profit institution, a government unit or a household). Some or all of the tools, capital equipment, information systems and/or premises used by the incumbents may be owned by others, and the incumbents may work under direct supervision of, or according to strict guidelines set by the owner(s) or persons in the owners' employment. (Persons in "paid employment jobs" are typically remunerated by wages and salaries, but may be paid by commission from sales, by piece-rates, bonuses or in-kind payments such as food, housing or training.)
Self-employment jobs are those jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits (or the potential for profits) derived from the goods and services produced (where own consumption is considered to be part of profits). The incumbents make the operational decisions affecting the enterprise, or delegate such decisions while retaining responsibility for the welfare of the enterprise. (In this context "enterprise" includes one-person operations.)
Jobs which have the same set of main tasks and duties are aggregated (grouped together) into occupations. Occupations are grouped together into narrowly or broadly defined occupational groups on the basis of similarity in the type of work done, i.e. similarity in the tasks and duties performed. The units described in a dictionary of occupations are occupations and occupational groups. (At the enterprise level, the wage and salary scheme may describe individual jobs.)
When jobs are the primary objects classified by an occupational classification, a person can be classified according to an occupation or occupational group only through his or her relationship with a job. This can be a job held in the past, a current job or a job he or she is looking for. In this context "to have a job" is meant in a broad sense, so that the classification should be applicable to all employment situations: employees, the self-employed and contributing family members, i.e. everyone working for pay, profit or family gain. It follows from this that, depending on the circumstances, one person may be classified according to several different occupations if he or she has (has had or is expected to have) more than one job. Users who need to work with only one occupation for each person need to formulate priority rules for selecting one job to be classified. Such rules are normally formulated with reference to the most hours worked or income earned during a reference period.
The classification variable(s)
The classification variable in an occupational classification is usually the type of work done, or the tasks and duties performed.
The similarity criteria
The similarity criteria are fundamental to a classification of occupations. They determine the conceptual framework for the composition and location of categories and provide guidance on how to classify new or omitted occupations, how to establish similarity in the main attribute, and how to organize the occupations in the classification. They must relate to known attributes of an occupation and must be clearly and consistently defined and measured according to agreed methodology. Ideally, they should be determined by the use that will be and given to the classification. Thus, to be useful for job placement, human resource budgeting, education planning, skill should be the best criterion; but if the classification is to be useful for the analysis of social stratification or mobility, then occupational prestige would be a more suitable criterion.
Similarity criteria should meet the needs of any user. Unfortunately different users have different requirements with respect not only to the appropriate level of aggregation but also to the most appropriate similarity criteria. For some users (for example, insurance companies) important criteria may be whether the work is carried out outdoors or indoors, or whether travelling is required or not. For other users, the social status of the work may be most important, or they may want to focus on the materials worked with, the goods and services produced or whether the work requires direct contact with clients and customers. By deciding on the main similarity criteria to be used in the occupational classification, its developers implicitly or explicitly give priority to some users' needs over others. The implications of this for the overall use of the classification must therefore be carefully evaluated.
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