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7.39.   The term “occupation” refers to the kind of work done during a given reference period by the person employed (or the kind of work done previously if unemployed). Information on occupation provides a description of a person’s job. In the present context, a job is defined as a set of tasks and duties performed, or meant to be performed, by one person, including for an employer or in self‑employment. 

7.40.   Jobs are classified by occupation (with respect to the type of work performed, or to be performed). This may be a past job, for persons who are unemployed, a present job, for employed persons; or a future job, for jobseekers. It is therefore important to determine whether the classification by occupation is carried out with respect to one job only or for a number of jobs. Consequently, it is important that the questionnaire specify for which job the information is to be collected the main job or the secondary job and whether this refers to the past or the future. “Main job” is often defined as the one with the longest hours usually worked during the reference period and the one for which detailed information is collected in respect of industry and occupation. 

7.41.   The International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) provides a system for classifying and aggregating occupational information obtained by means of statistical censuses and surveys, as well as from administrative records. 

7.42.   ISCO-08 is a four‑level hierarchically structured classification which allows all jobs in the world to be classified into 436 unit groups. These groups form the most detailed level of the classification structure and are aggregated into 130 minor groups, 43 sub‑major groups and 10 major groups, based on the similarity of the skill level and skill specialization required.[1]

7.43.   It should be emphasized that ISCO-08, may serve as a model but is not intended to replace any existing national classification of occupations, as the occupational classification of individual countries should fully reflect both the structure of the national labour market and relevant special national information needs. 

7.44.   ISCO-08 seeks to facilitate international communication about occupations by providing statisticians with a framework for making internationally comparable occupational data available, and by allowing international occupational data to be produced in a form that can be useful for research as well as for specific decision‑making and action‑oriented activities, such as those connected with international migration or job placement. 

7.45.   Among the key characteristics used in the retrieval and organization of labour‑market information are the occupational characteristics of both employees and jobs. It should be noted that so far, a list of tourism characteristic occupations based on ISCO-08 has not been developed.  

Box VII.10 

International Standard Classification of Occupations: “job”

In the context of International Standard Classification of   Occupations (ISCO-08), a job is defined as a set of tasks   and duties performed, or meant to be performed, by one person, including for   an employer or in self‑employment.

Through the application of this definition a job in a tourism industry could be defined as a set of tasks   and duties performed, or meant to be performed, by one person in an   establishment that carries out a tourism characteristic activity as its   principal activity.

__________________________

Source: International Standard   Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08).

7.46.                  At a minimum, it is useful to collect and compile data about tourism characteristic occupations for the following reasons: 

(a)            There is a need to know the nature and type of jobs to be found in industries that cater to the needs of visitors and to monitor change over time; 

(b)            Tourism authorities and policymakers need to examine labour demand and supply in terms of occupations, skills and training requirements.   

7.47.                  As a preliminary starting point, in this regards, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council use an approach which is designed to identify tourism characteristic occupations.[2] 

7.48.              A tourism characteristic occupation is one in which employment would be significantly affected as a direct result of an absence of tourism and that satisfies each of the following four criteria: 

(a)            The occupation should be found within tourism industries; 

(b)            The occupation should involve direct contact with visitors or the supervision or management of job holders in direct contact with visitors; 

(c)            The tourism industries should account for a significant share of all jobs in that occupation; 

(d)            The occupation should make up a significant share of all jobs in the tourism industries. 

As mentioned in paragraph 7.45, an agreed definition of “tourism characteristic occupation” has not yet been established. Hence, the approach just described, albeit provisional, is still useful.

 


[1] Two dimensions of the skill concept are used: skill level, which is a function of the range and complexity of the tasks involved, where the complexity of tasks has priority over the range; and skill specialization, which reflects type of knowledge applied, tools and equipment used, materials worked on, or with, and nature of the goods and services produced. While a national occupational classification may use references to the national educational system to define an appropriate number of skill‑level categories, ISCO-08 uses the UNESCO International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 1997 to define four broad categories of skill level.

[2] For further and more detailed information see International Labour Organization (2013a), Proposal for Identifying Characteristic Occupations of the Tourism Industries as a Tourism Thematic View within ISCO-08 and National Occupational Classification Systems, Room Document No. 13. 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS), 2 - 11 October 2013, Geneva, (online), available at: http://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and-databases/meetings-and-events/international-conference-of-labour-statisticians/19/WCMS_222947/lang--en/index.htm (30-05-2014).

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7.54.                  Status in employment (paid employment versus self‑employment) was already briefly introduced in paragraph 7.20 above. Additional information on status in employment and on the classifications groups and use of the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93)[1]. 

7.55.                  It should be noted again that for operational purpose, both IRTS 2008 and TSA: RMF 2008 recommend the use of only two groups of ICSE-93, namely, employees and the self‑employed. The rationale is that, except for employees, other ICSE-93 groups are not easily comparable across countries. Because of these differences, the only distinction made in both IRTS 2008 and TSA: RMF 2008 is between (paid) employees and self‑employed persons (employers and other non‑employees) (see also Box VII.9 for a country example). 

7.56.                  However, this does not preclude countries from presenting data on persons employed in tourism industries classified by any other ICSE group(s) (see Table VII.2). 

7.57.   It is recommended that employed persons be classified to status in employment according to the following rules: 

(a)            A person with only one classifiable job during the reference period should be classified to the status in employment group of that job; 

(b)            A person with two or more jobs during the reference period should be classified to the status in employment group of the job at which he or she has usually worked the longest hours during the reference period. 

7.58.                  The classification is based on the type of employment contract. The primary unit for this variable is a job. The main similarity criterion used to construct the classification is whether or not the remuneration received depends totally on the (potential for) profits from the sales of the goods and services that are produced by the economic unit in which the job is located. If it does, then this is considered to be a self‑employment job, and if it does not, i.e., if some of the remuneration is independent of the (potential for) profits, then this is considered to be a paid employment job.

Table VII.2 

Estimated workforce jobs, 2008 (seasonally adjusted): tourism and non‑tourism industries in the United Kingdom

Source: United Kingdom, Annual Population Survey data.

Note: Details do not necessarily add up to totals owing to rounding.

7.59.                  Pursuant to paragraph 7.58, paid employment jobs may be defined as those jobs where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) employment contracts which give them a basic remuneration, which is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the enterprise for which they work. Persons in these jobs are typically remunerated by wages and salaries, but may be paid by commission from sales, by piece rates, bonuses or in‑kind payments. 

7.60.                  Self‑employment jobs are those jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits (or the potential for profits) derived from the goods or services produced (where own consumption is considered to be part of the profits). The incumbents make the operational decisions affecting the enterprises, or delegate such decisions while retaining responsibility (in this context, “enterprise” includes one‑person operations). 

7.61.                  Box VII.12 presents the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93), setting out the groups of which it consists:

 

Box VII.12 

International   Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93) 

The   International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93) comprises the   following groups: 

1. Employees, who hold   the type of jobs defined as “paid employment”. There is an agreement, which   can be either formal or informal, between an enterprise and a person, whereby   the person works for the enterprise in return for remuneration in cash or in   kind - among whom countries may need to be able to distinguish "employees   with stable contracts" (including "regular employees"). 

2. Employers, who hold   self‑employment jobs (i.e., whose remuneration depends directly on the   (expectation of) profits derived from the goods and services produced) and   engage one or more person to work for them as “employees”, on a continuous   basis. 

3. Own‑account workers,   who hold self‑employment jobs and do not engage “employees” on a continuous   basis;

4. Members of producers'   cooperatives, who hold self‑employment jobs in a cooperative producing   goods and services, where the members take part on an equal footing in making   major decisions concerning the cooperative. 

5. Contributing family   workers, who hold self‑employment jobs in an establishment operated by a   related person, and have too limited a degree of involvement in its operation   to be considered partners. 

6. Workers not   classifiable by status, for whom insufficient relevant information is   available, and/or who cannot be included in any of the preceding categories.

__________________________

Source: International   Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93).

 

[1] International Labour Organization (1993a). See also International Labour Organization (2000), Current International Recommendations on Labour Statistics, ILO, Geneva.