Brigadier to army general
A brigadier already meets 80% of what the army general role asks for. The move turns on 1 required skill not yet in the profile.
19.7/ 100
1 How much of what an army general is expected to do is already part of a brigadier’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 general role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An army general role treats 10 of its required skills as things a brigadier already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse potential threats against national security
- defend human rights
- ensure public safety and security
- maintain operational communications
- manage administrative systems
- manage budgets
What stands in the way is 1 required skill 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 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An army general role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a brigadier background worth leading with.
- already held manage military logistics management skills
- already held analyse potential threats against national security information skills
- already held military logistics business, administration and law
- already held defend human rights communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held monitor military equipment use information skills
- already held devise military tactics management skills
All 17 carried skills, including the 10 the army general role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 7 missing skills fall into 5 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 develop defence policies required
- optional, not held manage security clearance optional
- optional, not held apply health and safety standards optional
- optional, not held identify security threats optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held undertake inspections optional
- optional, not held military drill optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 1 entries an army general 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 · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held analyse potential threats against national security skill
- already held defend human rights skill
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held maintain operational communications skill
- already held manage administrative systems skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage military logistics skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held military logistics knowledge
- already held set organisational policies skill
- already held devise military tactics skill
- already held ensure information security skill
- already held manage troop deployment skill
- already held military code knowledge
- already held military combat techniques knowledge
- already held military weaponry knowledge
- already held monitor military equipment use skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held manage security clearance optional
- optional, not held apply health and safety standards optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held identify security threats optional
- optional, not held military drill optional
- optional, not held undertake inspections optional
10 held skills the army general role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
- not needed by the target role advise superiors on military operations skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate humanitarian aid missions skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with policies skill
- not needed by the target role ensure equipment availability skill
- not needed by the target role instruct in military duties skill
- not needed by the target role manage inspections of equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage system security skill
- not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
- not needed by the target role write situation reports skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held military drill optional
Common questions about this move
Can a brigadier become an army general?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A brigadier already covers 80% of what an army general is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 10 of which the army general role treats as required.
What skills does a brigadier need to become an army general?
1 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is develop defence policies.
How hard is the move from brigadier to army general?
Its learning distance is 19.7 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.