Cabinet maker to frame maker
A cabinet maker already meets 58% of what the frame maker role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
45/ 100
1 How much of what a frame maker is expected to do is already part of a cabinet maker’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 frame maker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A frame maker role treats 8 of its required skills as things a cabinet maker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply a protective layer
- apply wood finishes
- create smooth wood surface
- manipulate glass
- operate wood sawing equipment
- organic building materials
What stands in the way is 5 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A frame maker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cabinet maker background worth leading with.
- already held carve materials handling and moving
- already held fix minor scratches handling and moving
- already held decorate furniture communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepare furniture for application of paint constructing
- already held clean furniture handling and moving
- already held sell household goods communication, collaboration and creativity
All 19 carried skills, including the 8 the frame maker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 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.
- still to learn build picture frames required
- still to learn cut glass required
- still to learn create wood joints required
- still to learn manipulate wood required
- optional, not held age furniture artificially optional
- still to learn match frames to pictures required
- optional, not held paint decorative designs optional
- optional, not held maintain furniture machinery optional
- optional, not held operate furniture machinery optional
- optional, not held repair furniture machinery optional
- optional, not held apply restoration techniques optional
- optional, not held remove paint optional
- optional, not held estimate restoration costs optional
- optional, not held evaluate restoration procedures optional
- optional, not held set up the controller of a machine optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a frame maker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 build picture frames practise this
- 02 match frames to pictures practise this
- 03 cut glass 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held apply a protective layer skill
- already held apply wood finishes skill
- already held create smooth wood surface skill
- already held manipulate glass skill
- already held operate wood sawing equipment skill
- already held organic building materials knowledge
- already held sand wood skill
- already held types of wood knowledge
- already held carve materials skill
- already held clean furniture skill
- already held decorate furniture skill
- already held fix minor scratches skill
- already held handle delivery of furniture goods skill
- already held manipulate metal skill
- already held pass on trade techniques skill
- already held prepare furniture for application of paint skill
- already held sell furniture skill
- already held sell household goods skill
- already held technical drawings knowledge
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply restoration techniques optional
- optional, not held estimate restoration costs optional
- optional, not held evaluate restoration procedures optional
- optional, not held maintain furniture machinery optional
- optional, not held operate furniture machinery optional
- optional, not held repair furniture machinery optional
- optional, not held age furniture artificially optional
- optional, not held paint decorative designs optional
- optional, not held remove paint optional
- optional, not held set up the controller of a machine optional
24 held skills the frame maker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAD software knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply colour coats skill
- not needed by the target role clean wood surface skill
- not needed by the target role construction products knowledge
- not needed by the target role create furniture frames skill
- not needed by the target role create mock-ups skill
- not needed by the target role design objects to be crafted skill
- not needed by the target role design original furniture skill
- not needed by the target role dye wood skill
- not needed by the target role engrave patterns skill
- not needed by the target role engraving technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role furniture industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role furniture trends knowledge
- not needed by the target role join wood elements skill
- not needed by the target role operate drilling equipment skill
- not needed by the target role repair furniture frames skill
- not needed by the target role repair furniture parts skill
- not needed by the target role sanding techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role stain wood skill
- not needed by the target role tend boring machine skill
- not needed by the target role use CAD software skill
- not needed by the target role use substitute materials skill
- not needed by the target role wood products knowledge
- not needed by the target role woodturning knowledge
Common questions about this move
Can a cabinet maker become a frame maker?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A cabinet maker already covers 58% of what a frame maker is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 8 of which the frame maker role treats as required.
What skills does a cabinet maker need to become a frame maker?
5 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is build picture frames.
How hard is the move from cabinet maker to frame maker?
Its learning distance is 45 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.