Where a purchaser can go next
5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a purchaser already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Purchasers select and purchase stock, materials, services or goods. They organise tender procedures and select suppliers.
Also known as supply agent, purchasing office worker, purchasing and supply office worker, procurement and supply agent, purchasing assistant, purchasing and supply assistant, purchasing agent, trainee purchaser, procurement officer, purchasing and supply officer, purchasing officer, procurer.
Technicians and associate professionals 37 skills on file 5 career moves 1 above 60% overlap Closest: purchase planner, 61%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 1 · Within reach
Table 2 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
Table 3 · What the job itself asks for
A purchaser needs 20 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- manage purchasing cycle communication, collaboration and creativity
- issue purchase orders management skills
- communicate price changes communication, collaboration and creativity
- compare contractors' bids communication, collaboration and creativity
- track price trends information skills
- manage tender processes management skills
- coordinate purchasing activities communication, collaboration and creativity
- export control principles business, administration and law
- assess supplier risks information skills
- ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations assisting and caring
Table 4 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a purchaser does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- purchase planner 65% covered · difficulty 39.8
- purchasing manager 48% covered · difficulty 55.5
- ICT vendor relationship manager 44% covered · difficulty 60
- ICT buyer 43% covered · difficulty 61.1
- supply chain manager 39% covered · difficulty 63.9
- public procurement specialist 19% covered · difficulty 80.1
- standalone public buyer 19% covered · difficulty 80.1
Look up another occupation
Purchaser is filed under Technicians and associate professionals, ISCO major group 3. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a purchaser’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.