Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Business analyst to occupational analyst

A business analyst already meets 22% of what the occupational analyst role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From business analyst
22 % overlap
Distant match
To occupational analyst
7 You already bring
12 Still to learn
36 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

76.3/ 100

1 How much of what an occupational analyst is expected to do is already part of a business analyst’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 occupational analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An occupational analyst role treats 4 of its required skills as things a business analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on efficiency improvements
  • advise on personnel management
  • digital data processing
  • report analysis results

What stands in the way is 12 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 occupational analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a business analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held advise on personnel management communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held management consulting business, administration and law
  • already held digital data processing working with computers
  • already held advise on efficiency improvements communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held report analysis results information skills
  • already held interview people communication, collaboration and creativity

All 7 carried skills, including the 4 the occupational analyst role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 29 missing skills fall into 4 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 business, administration and law 6 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn company policies required
  • still to learn employment law required
  • still to learn human resource management required
  • still to learn job market offers required
  • still to learn labour legislation required
  • still to learn market analysis required
  • optional, not held human resources department processes optional
  • optional, not held organisational structure optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn design job analysis tools required
  • still to learn write job descriptions required
  • still to learn present reports required
  • still to learn write work-related reports required
  • optional, not held create training materials optional
  • optional, not held liaise with government officials optional
  • optional, not held liaise with industry experts optional
  • optional, not held liaise with union officials optional
  • optional, not held support managers optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
03 information skills 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn carry out job analysis required
  • still to learn develop occupational classification systems required
  • optional, not held document interviews optional
  • optional, not held gather feedback from employees optional
  • optional, not held manage tests optional
04 management skills 6 supplementary
  • optional, not held develop training programmes optional
  • optional, not held hire human resources optional
  • optional, not held profile people optional
  • optional, not held administer appointments optional
  • optional, not held identify necessary human resources optional
  • optional, not held maintain professional administration optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an occupational analyst 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 advise on efficiency improvements skill
  • already held advise on personnel management skill
  • already held digital data processing skill
  • already held report analysis results skill
  • already held interview people skill
  • already held liaise with managers skill
  • already held management consulting knowledge
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held develop training programmes optional
  • optional, not held hire human resources optional
  • optional, not held profile people optional
  • optional, not held administer appointments optional
  • optional, not held create training materials optional
  • optional, not held document interviews optional
  • optional, not held gather feedback from employees optional
  • optional, not held human resources department processes optional
  • optional, not held identify necessary human resources optional
  • optional, not held liaise with government officials optional
  • optional, not held liaise with industry experts optional
  • optional, not held liaise with union officials optional
  • optional, not held maintain professional administration optional
  • optional, not held manage tests optional
  • optional, not held organisational structure optional
  • optional, not held support managers optional
  • optional, not held train employees optional
46 held skills the occupational analyst role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise client on technical possibilities skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on communication strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on financial matters skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on organisational culture skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
  • not needed by the target role align efforts towards business development skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse external factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse financial performance of a company skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse internal factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role apply change management skill
  • not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
  • not needed by the target role business analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business analytics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business communication knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business process modelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business strategy concepts knowledge
  • not needed by the target role conduct qualitative research skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct quantitative research skill
  • not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data visualisation software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role define organisational standards skill
  • not needed by the target role financial statements knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify undetected organisational needs skill
  • not needed by the target role interpret financial statements skill
  • not needed by the target role investment banking knowledge
  • not needed by the target role keep updated on the political landscape skill
  • not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
  • not needed by the target role management systems standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role market entry strategies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role market research knowledge
  • not needed by the target role marketing analytics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role organisational learning knowledge
  • not needed by the target role organisational policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform business analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role propose ICT solutions to business problems skill
  • not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role risk management knowledge

6 further entries not listed here

8 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 company policies required
  • still to learn employment law required
  • still to learn human resource management required
  • still to learn job market offers required
  • still to learn labour legislation required
  • still to learn market analysis required
  • optional, not held human resources department processes optional
  • optional, not held organisational structure optional
Index

Other moves recorded from business analyst

Full index of moves from business analyst

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a business analyst become an occupational analyst?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A business analyst already covers 22% of what an occupational analyst is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 4 of which the occupational analyst role treats as required.

What skills does a business analyst need to become an occupational analyst?

12 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is carry out job analysis.

How hard is the move from business analyst to occupational analyst?

Its learning distance is 76.3 out of 100, which is the career change 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.