The third classification within the ACLC is the Occupation Classification.
This classification presents a method of classifying data for culture and leisure occupations. The Occupation Classification is drawn directly from the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, Second Edition (ASCO) (ABS 1997c). Yet, it differs from the ASCO in that it is intended to be used for classifying not only paid but also unpaid work. The inclusion of work which is often unpaid is important as a number of culture and leisure industries rely on volunteers.
The NCCRS has previously compiled lists of occupations selected as 'culture or leisure' in nature in order to prepare publications such as Employment in Selected Culture/Leisure Occupations (ABS 1998b) and Sport and Recreation Employment in Australia (Sport and Recreation Ministers' Council 1998). These lists were based on the CMC SWG and SRMC frameworks described in Chapter 1. The ACLC Occupation Classification formalises the list of relevant ASCO culture and leisure occupations in terms of the definition of culture and leisure used in this publication while taking into account the issues of scope described below.
SCOPE
The Occupation Classification of the ACLC categorises occupations which are predominantly 'culture or leisure' in nature. Occupations were selected because they are intrinsically 'creative' (e.g. 2531-13 Sculptor), represent a sport-playing activity (e.g. 3993-13 Golfer) or have a role in enabling others to play sport (e.g. 1299-19 Sports Administrator), undertake physical recreation (e.g. 6396-13 Outdoor Adventure Guide), or participate in a culture or leisure activity (e.g. 2292-11 Librarian). An occupation is also included if it is predominantly found in culture or leisure businesses (hence, the inclusion of occupations 4912-11 Printing Machinist and 8312-11 Ticket Collector/Usher).
The classification is intended to be used to categorise work which may be paid or unpaid (e.g. Library Assistant and Museum/Gallery Attendant), but not participation which is in the form of a personal hobby or recreation activity. For example, while the ACLC Occupation Classification could be used to classify the occupation of professional tennis players (as this is their work), it is not intended to classify the activity of social tennis players as their participation is in the form of recreation rather than work.
It should be noted that not all culture and leisure occupations are covered by this classification. In ASCO, job specialisations are listed for those occupations that include a subset of jobs that involve specialised tasks (e.g. the occupation of Illustrator includes the specialisations of Animator and Cartoonist). For a relatively small number of ASCO codes, a variety of different specialisations are covered by one code; this occurs most frequently when the numbers of people working in these specialisations are too small to be usefully identified separately in any ABS published output. Due to this, there are instances where some specialisations included within particular ASCO codes are culture and leisure in nature, while some specialisations are not. For each ASCO code in question, if there was reason to believe that the number of people recorded in the 1996 Census employed in the job specialisations which were culture and leisure related was greater than the number working in specialisations that were not, then the occupation class in question was included. In those instances where the latter outnumbered the former, the occupation was excluded. For instance, the occupation 1299-79 Specialist Managers n.e.c. is excluded from the ACLC Occupation Classification even though it includes relevant specialisations (e.g. Art Gallery Director and Bishop) since most of the people whose main job was classified to that occupation in the 1996 Census were working in jobs which were not related to the culture or leisure sectors (e.g. Airport Manager, Court Registrar and Security Manager).
Similarly, some occupations have been included in the classification because the majority, but not all, of people whose main job was classified to those occupations in the 1996 Census were in specialisations which are culture or leisure related. For example, ASCO occupation 9999-11 Vending Machine Attendant is included in the ACLC Occupation Classification because the majority of the people whose main job was classified to that occupation in 1996 were working in jobs related to culture and leisure.
Finally, note that no codes other than valid ASCO codes have been included in the ACLC Occupation Classification. However, for some occupations which are included in the ACLC Occupation Classification, culture and leisure specialisations which are not listed in ASCO (but which would be classified to that occupation) have been added. For instance, the job specialisation Clapper Loader (Film) is not listed in ASCO, but has been added as a specialisation under the occupation of 4992-79 Performing Arts Support Workers n.e.c.; as well, Committee Member (Sport) has been added as a specialisation of 3993-35 Other Sports Official. These additions allow a better understanding of the types of work included within the occupations and, in some cases, are aimed at assisting with the classification of unpaid work.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE OCCUPATION CLASSIFICATION
Structure and numbering
The main features of the Occupation Classification in the ACLC are similar to the ASCO. The structure of ASCO comprises five hierarchical levels, ranging from major group to occupation. Note that in the Occupation Classification, for brevity, we name only the major group and the occupation; the names of the intermediate levels can be found within the ASCO publication itself (ABS 1997c).
ASCO distinguishes the major groups (e.g., Manager and Administrators, Professionals, etc.) from each other on the basis of skill level and, where necessary, the broad concept of skill specialisation. The skill level is a function of the range and complexity of the set of tasks involved in an occupation. It is measured by the formal education, training and/or previous experience usually required for entry into an occupation. The skill specialisation is measured by the field of knowledge required, the tools and equipment used, the materials worked on, and the goods or services provided. The ASCO classification contains 9 major groups which are denoted by a 1-digit code. These groups are set out in the Occupation Classification summary.
The most detailed level of the ASCO classification is the occupation. An occupation is distinguished from other occupations in the same major group on the basis of detailed skill specialisations. The ASCO classification lists 986 occupations which are denoted by 6-digit codes. Each of these occupations has a principal title and may also have an alternative title and/or specialisation titles. The principal title is the title that best describes the particular occupation. It is generally the most commonly used title. The alternative title has the same meaning as the principal title but may be less commonly used. A specialisation title is a commonly occurring title referring to a subset of jobs belonging to the occupation designated by the principal title. These jobs involve the performance of specialised tasks rather than the broader range of tasks usually performed in the occupation.
In the detailed Occupation Classification of the ACLC, the first column shows the ASCO Major Group, for example, 1 Managers and Administrators.
The second column shows the 6 digit ASCO Code, for example, '1312-23'.
The final column lists the occupation names: first the principal title, for example 'Horse Breeder'; then a possible alternative title, for example 'Horse Stud Manager'; then finally any specialisation titles, for example 'Stud Master/Mistress'.
The Occupation Classification of the ACLC does not provide a description of the nature of the activity undertaken in the occupation or the types of tasks performed in it. Instead, activity and task descriptions can be found in the ASCO publication (ABS 1997c).
There are 159 occupations listed in the Occupation Classification of the ACLC.
Alphabetic list of occupations
To enable readers to readily identify which occupation a cultural job belongs to, the occupation titles, together with alternative descriptions and specialisations, are listed alphabetically in a separate table.
Correspondences with the ASCO
The ACLC occupations are directly extracted from the ASCO and bear the same codes. Thus no separate correspondence is necessary.