Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Airport environment officer to airport director

An airport environment officer already meets 29% of what the airport director role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From airport environment officer
29 % overlap
Distant match
To airport director
7 You already bring
15 Still to learn
29 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

71/ 100

1 How much of what an airport director is expected to do is already part of an airport environment officer’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

Why this move works

An airport director role treats 7 of its required skills as things an airport environment officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • airport environmental regulations
  • apply airport standards and regulations
  • follow ethical code of conduct in transport services
  • identify airport safety hazards
  • use different communication channels
  • work in an aviation team

What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

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 airport environment officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held airport environmental regulations engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held follow ethical code of conduct in transport services assisting and caring
  • already held identify airport safety hazards information skills
  • already held apply airport standards and regulations assisting and caring
  • already held work in an aviation team communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held write work-related reports communication, collaboration and creativity

All 7 carried skills, including the 7 the airport director role treats as required.

Table 3

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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 8 required, 3 supplementary
  • 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 build business relationships required
  • still to learn create solutions to problems required
  • still to learn ensure client orientation 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
02 management skills 2 required, 4 supplementary
  • 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 business acumen optional
  • optional, not held apply strategic thinking optional
  • optional, not held plan event marketing for promotional campaigns optional
03 assisting and caring 2 required
  • still to learn ensure public safety and security required
  • still to learn comply with legal regulations required
04 business, administration and law 1 required
  • still to learn airport operating environment required
05 information skills 1 required
  • still to learn maintain inventory of airport operations required
06 working with computers 1 required
  • still to learn have computer literacy required
Table 4

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.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 7 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held airport environmental regulations knowledge
  • already held apply airport standards and regulations skill
  • already held follow ethical code of conduct in transport services skill
  • already held identify airport safety hazards skill
  • already held use different communication channels skill
  • already held work in an aviation team skill
  • already held write work-related reports skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • 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 business acumen 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
11 held skills the airport director role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role comply with wildlife hazard management programmes skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct airport environmental studies skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate airport environmental policies skill
  • not needed by the target role develop environmental policy skill
  • not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role follow airport safety procedures skill
  • not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
  • not needed by the target role implement environmental protection measures skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain work area cleanliness skill
  • not needed by the target role promote environmental awareness skill
  • not needed by the target role waste management knowledge
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn airport operating environment required
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an airport environment officer become an airport director?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An airport environment officer already covers 29% of what an airport director is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 7 of which the airport director role treats as required.

What skills does an airport environment officer need to become an airport director?

15 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is airport operating environment.

How hard is the move from airport environment officer to airport director?

Its learning distance is 71 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.