ECESCO is the European Commission's multilingual classification system for skills, competences, qualifications, and occupations. It serves as a common reference language for the European labour market, connecting the worlds of education, training, and employment across EU member states.
Background
Development of ESCO began in 2010 under the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The project emerged from the recognition that EU member states each maintained their own national occupation and skills classifications, creating barriers to cross-border labour mobility and skills matching. By building a pan-European taxonomy aligned with the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08), the Commission sought to create a shared vocabulary that could bridge national systems.
The first full version (v1) was released in 2017, and version 1.2 --- the current release --- was published subsequently with expanded occupation and skill entries along with additional language coverage.
Purpose & Scope
ESCO organises its content into three interrelated pillars:
- Occupations --- approximately 3,039 occupation concepts, each mapped to ISCO-08 and described with knowledge, skills, and competences typically associated with the role
- Skills and Competences --- approximately 13,890 concepts covering both cross-sectoral and sector-specific skills, linked to relevant occupations
- Qualifications --- a framework for connecting national qualification databases to occupation and skill concepts
The classification is published in the 24 official EU languages plus Norwegian, Icelandic, Ukrainian, and Arabic (28 languages total). Each concept carries a persistent URI, enabling use as linked data.
Key Elements
| Pillar | Count (v1.2) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Occupations | ~3,039 | Mapped to ISCO-08 groups |
| Skills / Competences | ~13,890 | Cross-sectoral and sector-specific |
| Knowledge concepts | included | Embedded within skills pillar |
| Qualifications | varies | Linked from national databases |
Serializations & Technical Formats
ESCO is published as linked data using the SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) vocabulary model. Bulk downloads are available in RDF/XML and CSV formats. The ESCO API provides programmatic access to the full classification in JSON format, supporting search, concept retrieval, and hierarchy navigation.
Governance & Maintenance
ESCO is maintained by the European Commission with support from the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and input from member state experts, social partners, and public employment services. Updates follow a structured release process with stakeholder consultation. The Commission manages the ESCO portal and API infrastructure.
Notable Implementations
ESCO is integrated into several major European platforms:
- EURES --- the European Job Mobility Portal uses ESCO to match job seekers with vacancies across borders
- Europass --- the European CV and credential platform references ESCO skills and occupation concepts
- National PES systems --- public employment services in several member states map their national classifications to ESCO
- Learning platforms --- used to describe learning outcomes and align training programmes with labour market needs
Related Standards
- ISCO-08 --- the International Standard Classification of Occupations on which ESCO's occupation pillar is based
- SKOS --- the W3C vocabulary model used for ESCO's linked data publication
- European Qualifications Framework (EQF) --- the overarching qualifications reference framework complementing ESCO