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3.3 Conversion table to ISCO-88
A conversion table is available from the Belgi Belgian NOC 1991 to ISCO-88 and convert converts 5-digit
NOC 1991 code to 4-digit ISCO-88
code (See Appendix 3 for the conversion table) table). There are a
couple of difficulties with this conversion table. First, in the Belgian gian classification, the major group
‘Armed forces’ is divided into four unit groups and 24 occupations. These occupations correspond
according to the conversion table, to sub sub-major major group 11. The label belonging to code 11 is
‘Legislators and senior officials’. als’. The right code for this group must be 011 ‘Armed forces’. It looks
like a small ‘error’, but it can have major effects in cross cross-country country comparisons. Second, it is not
clear whether the distinction made in ISCO ISCO-88 88 between ‘Corporate managers’ and ‘Gen ‘General
managers’, as discussed above, is taken into account in the conversion table or that an extra
question is needed to make the right conversion
conversion.
3.4 Overall judgement of the Belgian NOC
Not knowing how the Belgian classification is constructed, how th the e updating process went,
what double codes mean, and uncertainties concerning the conversion table give gives the impression
that the classification itself and the data available for cross cross-country country comparison
comparison, based on this
classification and the conversion tabl table to ISCO-88, is unreliable.
4. The National Occupational Classification in the
Netherlands
The Dutch National Statistics (CBS) has produced in 1971 the first Dutch Occupational
Classification (SBC). The most recent version from the SBC from 1992 (Edition n 2001) will be
discussed here.
4.1 Description of the Dutch NOC
Although the SBC was s originally developed independently from the ISCO classification,
SBC-1992 92 shows correspondence with ISCO-88 (See Appendix 4 for the structure of the SBC SBC-1992
and the correspondence respondence with ISCO ISCO-88). Both SBC-1992 and ISCO-88 use the concept of skill level,
only in SBC-1992 1992 at a more detailed level. SBC-1992 1992 uses five skill levels, while ISCO-88 uses four
skill levels. SBC-1992 1992 divides the second skill level into two separate skill levels because the Dutch
educational system makes this distinction (CBS, 2001). Both SBC SBC-1992 and ISCO ISCO-88 use the
concept of skill specialisation. ISCO ISCO-88 combines this with skill level at the first digit level, whereas
SBC-1992 uses skill specialisation ation to distinguish occupations at the fifth digit level. Also, all
occupations which consist of jobs in which the workers have mainly legislative, administrative or
managerial tasks and duties uties should be classified to a separate major group: major group 1 in the
case of ISCO-88 1 and skill-subcategory subcategory 78 (at high skilled level) or skill skill-subcategory subcategory 98 (at
1
Elias, P. & Birch, M. (1994). Establishment of Commun Community-Wide Wide Occupational Statistics: ISCO 88 (COM) – A
Guide for Users. http://www.csv.warwick.ac.uk/ier/isco/brit/intro.html Accessed 12 September 2006,
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