The article discusses the most recent developments of occupations classification in Italy and in particular on Occupations Survey. The analysis focuses on some elements of the theoretical and methodological framework to highlight the elements of discontinuity with previous systems of classification. Secondly, it points out the hidden potentials to describe occupations. In particular, the Authors raise questions about the changes of the meaning and the role of information bases of employment policies, in the light of the current political and institutional context, characterized by activation paradigm in the policy making. The thesis discussed is that the cognitive apparatus of this model leads to a progressive weakening in the common knowledge of general categories to support the creation of collective goods and democratization in the economic sphere.
Keywords: Public knowledge, job classifications; activation, competence, work places studies