Broadcast technician to audio-visual technician
A broadcast technician already meets 45% of what the audio-visual technician role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.1/ 100
1 How much of what an audio-visual technician is expected to do is already part of a broadcast technician’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 audio-visual technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An audio-visual technician role treats 7 of its required skills as things a broadcast technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- audiovisual equipment
- audiovisual products
- maintain audiovisual equipment
- maintain electrical equipment
- maintain electronic equipment
- operate audio equipment
What stands in the way is 8 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An audio-visual technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a broadcast technician background worth leading with.
- already held operate broadcast equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held operate remote broadcast equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held set up audiovisual peripheral equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held coordinate activities in audio recording studio management skills
- already held set up sound equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held maintain audiovisual equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 16 carried skills, including the 7 the audio-visual technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 9 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 coordinate audio system programmes required
- still to learn support audio system installation required
- still to learn operate video equipment required
- optional, not held operate a camera optional
- optional, not held operate sound live optional
- optional, not held set up cameras optional
- optional, not held use a telecine optional
- still to learn digital media required
- optional, not held cinematography optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- still to learn adapt to type of media required
- optional, not held create moving images optional
- optional, not held determine visual concepts optional
- still to learn apply health and safety standards required
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
- still to learn plan audiovisual recording required
- optional, not held assess power needs optional
- still to learn transfer uncut audiovisual material to computer required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an audio-visual technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt to type of media practise this
- 02 coordinate audio system programmes practise this
- 03 support audio system installation 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 16 skills that carry over
- already held audiovisual equipment knowledge
- already held audiovisual products knowledge
- already held maintain audiovisual equipment skill
- already held maintain electrical equipment skill
- already held maintain electronic equipment skill
- already held operate audio equipment skill
- already held operate broadcast equipment skill
- already held assist multimedia operator skill
- already held calibrate electronic instruments skill
- already held coordinate activities in audio recording studio skill
- already held edit recorded sound skill
- already held manage sound quality skill
- already held operate remote broadcast equipment skill
- already held set up audiovisual peripheral equipment skill
- already held set up sound equipment skill
- already held use audio reproduction software skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held assess sound quality optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assess sound quality optional
- optional, not held cinematography optional
- optional, not held create moving images optional
- optional, not held determine visual concepts optional
- optional, not held operate a camera optional
- optional, not held operate sound live optional
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
- optional, not held set up cameras optional
- optional, not held use a telecine optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held assess power needs optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held photography optional
26 held skills the audio-visual technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT communications protocols knowledge
- not needed by the target role adjust video transmissions skill
- not needed by the target role administer ICT system skill
- not needed by the target role align antennae with receiving dishes skill
- not needed by the target role assemble video tape footage skill
- not needed by the target role audio technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role broadcast equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role broadcast using Internet Protocol skill
- not needed by the target role develop programming schedule skill
- not needed by the target role electronics principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute integration testing skill
- not needed by the target role install low voltage wiring skill
- not needed by the target role maintain broadcast equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain internet protocol configuration skill
- not needed by the target role media formats knowledge
- not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
- not needed by the target role monitor quality of broadcasts skill
- not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate audio-signal processors skill
- not needed by the target role operate electronic measuring instruments skill
- not needed by the target role provide multimedia content skill
- not needed by the target role record multi-track sound skill
- not needed by the target role select recording source skill
- not needed by the target role set up broadcast equipment skill
- not needed by the target role set up portable field transmission equipment skill
- not needed by the target role signal cues to announcers skill
5 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 digital media required
- optional, not held cinematography optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held photography optional
Common questions about this move
Can a broadcast technician become an audio-visual technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A broadcast technician already covers 45% of what an audio-visual technician is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 7 of which the audio-visual technician role treats as required.
What skills does a broadcast technician need to become an audio-visual technician?
8 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is adapt to type of media.
How hard is the move from broadcast technician to audio-visual technician?
Its learning distance is 57.1 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.