Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Army general to army major

An army general already meets 54% of what the army major role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From army general
54 % overlap
Partial match
To army major
12 You already bring
3 Still to learn
28 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

42.7/ 100

1 How much of what an army major is expected to do is already part of an army general’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 army major role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An army major role treats 7 of its required skills as things an army general already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • maintain operational communications
  • manage troop deployment
  • military code
  • military combat techniques
  • military drill
  • military weaponry

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An army major role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an army general background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held military logistics business, administration and law
  • already held monitor military equipment use information skills
  • already held manage troop deployment management skills
  • already held military drill services
  • already held devise military tactics management skills
  • already held military combat techniques services

All 12 carried skills, including the 7 the army major role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 16 missing skills fall into 7 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 3 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn advise superiors on military operations required
  • still to learn give battle commands required
  • still to learn train military troops required
  • optional, not held assist in military logistics optional
  • optional, not held coordinate humanitarian aid missions optional
  • optional, not held write situation reports optional
02 management skills 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held coordinate patrols optional
  • optional, not held coordinate rescue missions optional
  • optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
  • optional, not held lead military troops optional
03 assisting and caring 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
  • optional, not held perform military operations optional
04 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held surveillance methods optional
05 information skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held test safety strategies optional
06 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an army major 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 12 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held maintain operational communications skill
  • already held manage troop deployment skill
  • already held military code knowledge
  • already held military combat techniques knowledge
  • already held military drill knowledge
  • already held military weaponry knowledge
  • already held monitor military equipment use skill
  • already held devise military tactics skill
  • already held ensure information security skill
  • already held manage administrative systems skill
  • already held manage staff skill
  • already held military logistics knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held assist in military logistics optional
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held coordinate humanitarian aid missions optional
  • optional, not held coordinate patrols optional
  • optional, not held coordinate rescue missions optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with types of weapons optional
  • optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
  • optional, not held lead military troops optional
  • optional, not held perform military operations optional
  • optional, not held surveillance methods optional
  • optional, not held test safety strategies optional
  • optional, not held write situation reports optional
12 held skills the army major role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse potential threats against national security skill
  • not needed by the target role apply health and safety standards skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct public presentations skill
  • not needed by the target role defend human rights skill
  • not needed by the target role develop defence policies skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security skill
  • not needed by the target role identify security threats skill
  • not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
  • not needed by the target role manage military logistics skill
  • not needed by the target role manage security clearance skill
  • not needed by the target role set organisational policies skill
  • not needed by the target role undertake inspections 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held surveillance methods optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an army general become an army major?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An army general already covers 54% of what an army major is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 7 of which the army major role treats as required.

What skills does an army general need to become an army major?

3 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is advise superiors on military operations.

How hard is the move from army general to army major?

Its learning distance is 42.7 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.