ILO International Standard Classification of Occupations g
14. As a first approximation, occupational groups may
be used to distinguish between the different categories of
services provided by foreign nationals. The ILO International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88) provides a sound basis for international
comparability of statistics on the categories of foreign
natural persons who are participating in the delivery of
traded services. This framework may be used for
conducting negotiations concerning mode 4 as well
h
.
The availability of statistical information on
employment in all or the selected categories––for
example, from the latest population census or a labour
force survey––could allow negotiators to understand
their significance and thus better focus the negotiations
and advance liberalization of market access for those
categories and groups of persons that are relatively more
important for the international trade in services. Further
work will have to be done, however, to identify the main
occupational groups included or likely to be included in
the commitments in the future rounds of negotiations -
that is, to establish the most relevant links between
ISCO-88 and CPC categories - and to investigate how to
collect the necessary information reliably and
effectively.
