European Commission launches European classification of Skills, Competences, Occupations and Qualifications (ESCO)

The European Commission has launched the first full version of the European classification of Skills, Competences, Occupations and Qualifications (ESCO).
QQI and SOLAS represent Ireland on the Member States Working Group for the development of ESCO.

The classification is available in 26 languages (the 24 EU languages, Icelandic and Norwegian).  ESCO facilitates the dialogue between labour market and the education/training sector by providing a common language that could help overcome labour market imbalances and increase occupational and geographical mobility in the EU.

ESCO is accessible through the ESCO service platform. It covers 2,942 occupations, 13,485 knowledge, skills and competences and will progressively display information on qualifications provided by the Member States. The publication of ESCO is a milestone in the achievement of objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy and the New Skills Agenda for Europe. In particular ESCO is relevant in the context of the EURES Regulation, becoming therefore the backbone of EU-wide exchange of labour market information.