Adult literacy teacher to university teaching assistant
An adult literacy teacher already meets 59% of what the university teaching assistant role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.7/ 100
1 How much of what a university teaching assistant is expected to do is already part of an adult literacy teacher’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the university teaching assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A university teaching assistant role treats 8 of its required skills as things an adult literacy teacher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess students
- assessment processes
- assist students in their learning
- curriculum objectives
- give constructive feedback
- guarantee students' safety
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A university teaching assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an adult literacy teacher background worth leading with.
- already held consult students on learning content communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assign homework management skills
- already held liaise with educational support staff communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assist in the organisation of school events management skills
- already held assist students with equipment assisting and caring
- already held work with virtual learning environments working with computers
All 15 carried skills, including the 8 the university teaching assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn provide assistance to lecturer required
- still to learn supervise practical courses required
- optional, not held assist students with their dissertation optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
- still to learn university procedures required
- optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
- optional, not held monitor developments in field of expertise optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held provide information on study programmes optional
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
- optional, not held oversee extra-curricular activities optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a university teaching assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 provide assistance to lecturer practise this
- 02 university procedures study this
- 03 supervise practical courses practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held assess students skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held assist students in their learning skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held prepare lesson content skill
- already held provide lesson materials skill
- already held assign homework skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held assist students with equipment skill
- already held consult students on learning content skill
- already held liaise with educational support staff skill
- already held manage resources for educational purposes skill
- already held work with virtual learning environments skill
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assist students with their dissertation optional
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held monitor developments in field of expertise optional
- optional, not held oversee extra-curricular activities optional
- optional, not held provide information on study programmes optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
27 held skills the university teaching assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Computer Assisted Language Learning knowledge
- not needed by the target role adapt teaching to student's capabilities skill
- not needed by the target role adapt teaching to target group skill
- not needed by the target role adult education knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on lesson plans skill
- not needed by the target role apply intercultural teaching strategies skill
- not needed by the target role apply teaching strategies skill
- not needed by the target role construct individual learning plans skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate when teaching skill
- not needed by the target role develop learning curriculum skill
- not needed by the target role encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate teamwork between students skill
- not needed by the target role instructional strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role learning difficulties knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage student relationships skill
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform classroom management skill
- not needed by the target role provide immigration advice skill
- not needed by the target role show consideration for student's situation skill
- not needed by the target role teach basic numeracy skills skill
- not needed by the target role teach digital literacy skill
- not needed by the target role teach literacy as a social practice skill
- not needed by the target role teach reading strategies skill
- not needed by the target role teach speed reading skill
- not needed by the target role teach writing skill
- not needed by the target role teamwork principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role use pedagogic strategies for creativity skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn university procedures required
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
Other moves recorded from adult literacy teacher
- further education teacher 81% covered · adjacent
- language school teacher 70% covered · moderate
- hospitality vocational teacher 59% covered · moderate
- learning support teacher 59% covered · moderate
- Steiner school teacher 59% covered · moderate
- special educational needs itinerant teacher 59% covered · moderate
- agriculture, forestry and fishery vocational teacher 58% covered · moderate
- digital literacy teacher 58% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can an adult literacy teacher become a university teaching assistant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An adult literacy teacher already covers 59% of what a university teaching assistant is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 8 of which the university teaching assistant role treats as required.
What skills does an adult literacy teacher need to become a university teaching assistant?
3 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is provide assistance to lecturer.
How hard is the move from adult literacy teacher to university teaching assistant?
Its learning distance is 39.7 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.