The project’s workUpdated: 03/05/2004

The work of the project will be broken down into a series of discrete work packages. These include:

	Extending the coding used in current national LFS
	Mapping eBusinesses and eWorkers
	ICT feasibility study on organisational panel surveys
	Ad hoc module on telework
	Mobility in the eEconomy
	ICT occupational profiles

Extending the coding used in current national LFS

This work package will result in recommendations as to where extensions of the current coding processes can provide more detail and more information about eWork. To this end it will examine the extent to which the coding in national Labour Force Surveys can be extended and the classifications fine-tuned for the purpose of optimising the information on eWork.

The initial stage will be a review of the national LFS and their coding, for the purpose of acquiring more detailed information on eWork. Special attention will be given to four key variables involved in measuring eWork. The first aim of this work package is to establish more fine-tuned sectoral classifications; the second aim is to establish more detailed and up-to-date occupational classifications. Because it is important to link eWork and the educational level, special attention is given to relevant educational classifications as a third variable. Finally, national Labour Force Surveys will also be examined for indicators of the use of ICT by individuals and how these individuals relate to ICT. 

National reports on the potential use of the national Labour Force Surveys in eWork analysis will be discussed in workshops. This methodology will allow an overview of the most productive routes for further analysis.

Mapping eBusinesses and eWorkers

Whereas the former package is focused on adapting classifications so they will provide more fine-tuned information on the new economic reality, this work package is focused on obtaining insight into the coding processes of different statistical bodies, documenting how coding decisions are made and recording problems with the current definitions. To accomplish this task, a list of 150 fictive descriptions of eWork establishments will be developed to challenge the current NACE rev.1 classifications. Similarly, 150 fictive descriptions of eWork occupations will be designed to challenge current ISCO 88 (COM) classifications.

The findings of this ‘coding investigation’ will be incorporated into clarifications as to how to code establishments using the current NACE rev. 1 and occupations using ISCO 88 (COM) classifications. Additionally, the work package will serve as a basis for discussions leading to possible future revisions of NACE and ISCO in the light of the new economic reality.

ICT feasibility study on organisational panel surveys

The purpose of this work package is to make an inventory of relevant EU and non-EU establishment panel studies to investigate whether they cover the use of ICT in the organisation and labour market related issues, including educational and training investments and Human Resources Management. This inventory will make it possible to do benchmarking with regard to the relation between ICT investments and ICT applications, on the one hand, and internal and external labour market effects, on the other. The interpretation of the international divergences will take into account both the methodological aspects and the ‘real differences’.

On this basis, an innovatively designed modular instrument will be developed for measuring the use and effects of ICT on organisational strategies. This instrument will be disseminated for use in a wide range of international organisational surveys.

Ad hoc module on telework

The general aim of this work package is to fulfil the need for reliable, valid and internationally comparable indicators for the measurement of telework. The main problems with surveys on telework relate to their international comparability and their cost efficiency, as well as to the difficulty of developing clear, exclusive and exhaustive definitions and indicators of telework.

To overcome these problems, this work package will develop common indicators of telework rather than standardised phrasing of common questions as such. These indicators should be translatable into concrete questions, which can be added to an existing survey, taking into account the specificity of the surveys and the cultural diversity of each country. To guarantee the validity and reliability for the actual implementation of a telework module, the nationally developed set of questions will be pilot-tested. A feasibility study will be set up to investigate the conditions under which this module can be added on to Labour Force Surveys, and on to the Community Labour Force Survey in particular. In doing so, active use will be made of the wealth of experience possessed by the expert subcontractor who has already applied this methodology in the US.

The establishment of national user-groups and a European user-group to monitor the proceedings in this work package will underpin the usefulness and effectiveness of the telework module from the point of view of science and policy.

Mobility in the eEconomy

Using administrative data and the CLFS, this work package is aimed at gaining more insight into the intersectoral mobility of eWorkers. The key objective is to reveal determinants of the mobility of ICT workers. The inflow and outflow of ICT workers will be detailed and traced. Where possible, the destination sectors of the former ICT personnel will be documented. This will result in a better understanding of the knowledge flows in and around the ICT sector, as well as of the distribution of Information Society knowledge. This work package will also look, where possible, at the effect that gender, age and educational background have on ICT jobs being created, comparing this to other sectors of importance and to the economy as a whole.

Administrative databases and the CLFS will be used to give in-depth insight into ICT mobility and into the methodological characteristics of each source.

ICT occupational profiles

A description of occupational profiles of new ICT-related jobs will be the main outcome of this work package. These profiles will include a detailed description of the work organisation, task composition and co-operational aspects of an occupation. Furthermore, the required technological and behavioural competencies and other relevant related labour market issues, such as types of contract, flexibility, etc. will be derived. This overview will be the result of an internationally standardised occupational profiling methodology that gives special attention to the systematic involvement of relevant stakeholders (such as employers, employees and training experts). This means that the profile will be validated by its users on the basis of how consistent, complete and up-to-date it is.

One crucial aspect is the regional comparison of these profiles, since it can be assumed that there is diversity in the types of contracts, the required training infrastructure and the actual shaping and institutionalisation of new occupations. Regional comparison makes it possible to benchmark and to detect analogies and differences in occupational shaping and vocational strategies. Because the eEconomy is a typically global phenomenon, additional information from the US will be provided.

The final evaluation of the existing occupational profiling methodology will lead to recommendations for the fine-tuning and adaptation of the methodology for the purpose of taking into account the specificity of IT occupations.