ANZSCO (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations) provides the framework for standardized gathering, evaluation and distribution of occupational data for Australia and New Zealand.
What is ANZSCO Data Used For?
The idea is to use the framework provided by ANZSCO to store, organize and report information related to various occupations for both client-oriented and statistical applications, such as matching workforce to jobs and providing career information. Most importantly, the standardised bands help government agencies in both countries make objective decisions in the areas of skill-based immigration and job-related public policy.
How are ANZSCO Skill Levels Assigned to Occupations?
Every occupation on the ANZSCO list gets an Indicative Skill Level.
Note the deliberate use of the term “Indicative Level”. This term is used across ANZSCO to highlight that skill levels do not just depend on the formal education of workers. ANZSCO recognizes that the skills workers possess for a given occupation are not the same for everyone.
An ANZSCO skill level reflects the variety and complexity of assignments undertaken for that occupation. Skill level is accessed based on the formal education level, hands-on job training and relevant work experience. ANZSCO assigns a skill level, ranging from Level 1 (maximum) to Level 5 (minimum) for all occupations.
What Does the ANZSCO Structure Look Like?
ANZSCO uses a 5-level hierarchical structure – occupation, unit group, minor group, sub-major group and major group. Occupations are the last level of classification. They are grouped under unit groups, which combine to form minor groups. Multiple minor groups come together to create sub-major groups, aggregates of which form the highest level in the hierarchy called major groups.
The basis for the groupings is the commonality in the occupational attributes, and successively broader categories use these similarities to help in statistical and other kinds of analysis.
Does ANZSCO Measure the Skill Level of a Worker?
No, ANZSCO is not the measure of an individual’s skill level. It instead points to the skill level needed to typically perform an occupation with acceptable competency. It is not relevant if an individual performing a job in an occupation has a specific level of competence or a certain extent of training.
Do ANZSCO Classifications Change?
Yes, they do.
ANZSCO was originally developed in 2002 with the combined efforts of the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics), Stats NZ (New Zealand’s official data agency) and the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Stakeholders from both the countries were formally consulted from 2002 to 2005 to apprise them of progress and seek their views on key issues such as ANZSCO’s design and structure. Stats NZ and ABS have been using ANZSCO in their surveys and censuses since 2006 to collect occupational data. ANZSCO has also been making roadways into administrative data collection.
As such, it has since been revised in 2009, 2013 and 2019. The latest release, Version 1.3, was refreshed for skill levels in 2019.
Why Should You Care About ANZSCO If You Seek a Visa for New Zealand?
You need to understand the scope of ANZSCO as it applies to various kinds of visas offered by Immigration New Zealand.
ANZSCO covers all jobs and occupations in the New Zealand labour market. It not only involves work done for profit or pay, but also includes jobs where people work for themselves.
Note that ANZSCO is not designed for work that is not done to make a profit or collect pay, for instance, voluntary work. However, it does not mean that ANZSCO cannot be used to describe such work activities. Also, illegal activities are not covered by ANZSCO.
How Does Immigration New Zealand Use ANZSCO?
Immigration New Zealand looks at the employment offer based visa applications to verify the applicant’s job description with the responsibilities and tasks listed in the chosen ANZSCO code.
Different New Zealand Immigration rules apply to different ANZSCO skill levels for speciality occupation job-based visas such as Essential Skills Work Visa and Skilled Migrant Category Visa.
Work with a New Zealand immigration expert to take full advantage of the changing ANZSCO classifications and peculiarities of skill-based visas. Book a consultation with our expert Auckland based immigration advisers.
