Clustering Educational Categories in a Heterogeneous Labour Market

In most countries, the systems of educational classification are based on administrative criteria. For labour market analyses, however, a classification that demarcates an individual''s competences obtained by the courses attended is a better alternative. In this paper we will develop an educational classification that is based on the observed substitution possibilities of workers with different educational backgrounds within similar jobs. As an additional criterion we use the recognisability of the groups distinguished. In addition, we incorporate the criterion of statistical reliability. This results in an educational classification with 113 distinct categories.