Field entry, published 2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z, updated 2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z. Group: Major Group 2: Professionals

What work sits in Major Group 2?

Major Group 2 in ISCO-08 holds professional work whose core tasks call for an extensive body of theoretical and practical knowledge, applied with judgement, creativity and responsibility for complex problems. The group is defined by what the work itself demands, not by a job title, an employer, a sector or a qualification held by one person. Two roles can share a familiar title and still sit in different places in the classification when their main tasks differ, and two roles with unlike titles can sit near each other when their main professional tasks are alike.

What kind of task marks professional work?

Professional tasks in this group typically involve analysis, diagnosis, design, planning, research, advice, teaching or the creation of original work. The worker is expected to interpret evidence, weigh options that have no single routine answer and take responsibility for the quality and consequences of a decision. A task that mainly repeats a set procedure, however skilled the hand that performs it, points away from this group, even when the work is valuable and demanding in its own right. The distinguishing feature is the depth of knowledge that must be brought to bear before action, and the freedom to shape the approach rather than simply follow a preset sequence.

That depth is often built through extended study and experience, but ISCO-08 classification looks first at the tasks. Education can be a clue to the level of knowledge a job requires, yet it does not by itself place a job in Major Group 2. A post that asks for advanced knowledge but assigns mainly routine execution would not fit the professional pattern, while a post that genuinely requires sustained professional judgement fits even if the route into it was unusual. Readers should therefore read a job by its duties, not by its label.

Which broad families appear in the group?

In general terms, the ILO structure gathers professional work into broad families that reflect the field of knowledge being applied. Science and engineering professionals work with natural and physical knowledge, mathematical methods and technical design. Health professionals work with knowledge of the human body, illness, care and public health. Teaching professionals work with knowledge of learning, curriculum and instruction. Business professionals work with knowledge of organisations, markets, finance, administration and human resources. Information and communications technology professionals work with knowledge of computing systems, software, networks and data. Legal, social and cultural professionals work with knowledge of law, society, culture, language, religion and the arts.

These families are a map of knowledge fields, not a list of employers. A scientist employed by a company, a university or a public body remains a science professional in classification terms when the main work is scientific. A teacher in a school, a college or a training centre remains a teaching professional when the main work is teaching. The setting changes the context, but the classification follows the professional task.

How should a reader use this group?

Start with the main task, stated in plain language. Ask what knowledge the task draws on, what kind of problem it solves, and how much independent judgement it requires. Then ask which broad family that knowledge belongs to. If the answer is a professional field and the judgement is sustained and complex, Major Group 2 is the right neighbourhood to explore in the ILO structure. If the main task is supporting a professional, applying a standard technique under direction, or carrying out a routine technical procedure, the work may belong with associate professionals or another group, even when it sits close to professional work in daily life.

It also helps to separate the occupation from the person. ISCO-08 classifies jobs and occupations, not individual worth, seniority or career history. A senior practitioner and a newcomer can hold jobs in the same professional family when their tasks match, and a manager who now mainly plans and directs other people may belong elsewhere even after a long professional career. The question is always what the job does now, in its main tasks.

What does not belong here simply because it sounds professional?

A polished title, a respected workplace or a high salary does not place work in Major Group 2. Neither does contact with professionals. Administrative support for a professional team, technical assistance with equipment, sales support for a technical product and routine data handling may all support professional work without being professional work in the ISCO sense. Conversely, professional work can be quiet, part time or carried out alone, and can sit outside a large institution altogether. The test stays with knowledge, complexity and judgement.

For anyone browsing this cluster, the guides that follow take one family or one classification question at a time. Each guide stays at the general level of the ILO structure and points back to that structure for the finer detail. That restraint matters, because the finer levels turn on distinctions that a short general guide cannot settle for a particular job. Use these pages to understand the shape of Major Group 2, then consult the ILO structure itself when a precise placement matters.

Sources checked

1. ILO ISCO-08 structure

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