Aeronautical information specialist to airport director
An aeronautical information specialist already meets 26% of what the airport director role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.9/ 100
1 How much of what an airport director is expected to do is already part of an aeronautical information specialist’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 airport director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An airport director role treats 6 of its required skills as things an aeronautical information specialist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- build business relationships
- ensure client orientation
- have computer literacy
- use different communication channels
- work in an aviation team
- write work-related reports
What stands in the way is 16 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An airport director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an aeronautical information specialist background worth leading with.
- already held apply business acumen management skills
- already held work in an aviation team communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held ensure client orientation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held build business relationships communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held write work-related reports communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held have computer literacy working with computers
All 7 carried skills, including the 6 the airport director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 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 implement improvements in airport operations required
- still to learn negotiate sales contracts required
- still to learn provide assistance to airport users required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn implement strategic management required
- still to learn show diplomacy required
- optional, not held implement airport emergency plans optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
- still to learn apply airport standards and regulations required
- still to learn ensure public safety and security required
- still to learn follow ethical code of conduct in transport services required
- still to learn comply with legal regulations required
- still to learn supervise maintenance activities in airports required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held prepare airport annual budget optional
- optional, not held apply strategic thinking optional
- optional, not held plan event marketing for promotional campaigns optional
- still to learn maintain inventory of airport operations required
- still to learn identify airport safety hazards required
- still to learn airport operating environment required
- still to learn airport environmental regulations required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an airport director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 airport environmental regulations study this
- 02 airport operating environment study this
- 03 apply airport standards and regulations 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held build business relationships skill
- already held ensure client orientation skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held work in an aviation team skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held apply business acumen skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held implement airport emergency plans optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held prepare airport annual budget optional
- optional, not held apply strategic thinking optional
- optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
- optional, not held plan event marketing for promotional campaigns optional
14 held skills the airport director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role aviation meteorology knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role compile data for navigation publications skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety in international aviation skill
- not needed by the target role geographic areas knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain up-to-date aeronautical information management services skill
- not needed by the target role manage aeronautical information management services skill
- not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role provide customer follow-up services skill
- not needed by the target role test improved aeronautical information management systems skill
- not needed by the target role use geographic information systems skill
2 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 airport environmental regulations required
- still to learn airport operating environment required
Other moves recorded from aeronautical information specialist
- aeronautical information service officer 50% covered · moderate
- aviation data communications manager 37% covered · substantial
- aviation communications and frequency coordination manager 34% covered · substantial
- air traffic manager 25% covered · substantial
Full index of moves from aeronautical information specialist
Common questions about this move
Can an aeronautical information specialist become an airport director?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An aeronautical information specialist already covers 26% of what an airport director is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 6 of which the airport director role treats as required.
What skills does an aeronautical information specialist need to become an airport director?
16 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is airport environmental regulations.
How hard is the move from aeronautical information specialist to airport director?
Its learning distance is 73.9 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.