Chief fire officer to firefighter instructor
A chief fire officer already meets 49% of what the firefighter instructor role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.5/ 100
1 How much of what a firefighter instructor is expected to do is already part of a chief fire officer’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 firefighter instructor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A firefighter instructor role treats 9 of its required skills as things a chief fire officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- extinguish fires
- fire prevention procedures
- fire safety regulations
- fire-fighting systems
- hydraulics
- implement fire safety management plans
What stands in the way is 10 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 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A firefighter instructor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a chief fire officer background worth leading with.
- already held coordinate with other emergency services communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held implement fire safety management plans management skills
- already held manage emergency care situations management skills
- already held pyrotechnic articles legislation business, administration and law
- already held work as a team in a hazardous environment communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held educate public on fire safety communication, collaboration and creativity
All 20 carried skills, including the 9 the firefighter instructor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 teach fire fighting principles required
- still to learn apply intercultural teaching strategies required
- still to learn educate on emergency management required
- still to learn ensure student welfare required
- still to learn provide advice on breaches of regulation required
- optional, not held relay messages through radio and telephone systems optional
- optional, not held safely instruct about fitness optional
- optional, not held assist students in their learning optional
- optional, not held provide lesson materials optional
- still to learn evacuate people from buildings required
- still to learn guarantee students' safety required
- still to learn provide first aid required
- optional, not held maintain safety systems optional
- optional, not held perform search and rescue missions optional
- still to learn assess students required
- still to learn perform classroom management required
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held perform preventive maintenance on fire fighting vehicles optional
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held climb trees optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a firefighter instructor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 teach fire fighting principles practise this
- 02 apply intercultural teaching strategies practise this
- 03 assess students 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 20 skills that carry over
- already held extinguish fires skill
- already held fire prevention procedures knowledge
- already held fire safety regulations knowledge
- already held fire-fighting systems knowledge
- already held hydraulics knowledge
- already held implement fire safety management plans skill
- already held manage major incidents skill
- already held test safety strategies skill
- already held work as a team in a hazardous environment skill
- already held coordinate with other emergency services skill
- already held educate public on fire safety skill
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held environmental policy knowledge
- already held manage emergency care situations skill
- already held perform risk analysis skill
- already held plan health and safety procedures skill
- already held pollution legislation knowledge
- already held pyrotechnic articles legislation knowledge
- already held use different types of fire extinguishers skill
- already held use geographic information systems skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held maintain safety systems optional
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held perform preventive maintenance on fire fighting vehicles optional
- optional, not held perform search and rescue missions optional
- optional, not held relay messages through radio and telephone systems optional
- optional, not held safely instruct about fitness optional
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held assist students in their learning optional
- optional, not held climb trees optional
- optional, not held provide lesson materials optional
16 held skills the firefighter instructor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply first response skill
- not needed by the target role assess employees' capability levels skill
- not needed by the target role conduct public presentations skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate rescue missions skill
- not needed by the target role first response knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead a team skill
- not needed by the target role maintain operational communications skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage security equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role operate fire extinguishers skill
- not needed by the target role organise fire drills skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role select hazard control skill
- not needed by the target role supervise worker safety skill
- not needed by the target role train employees 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 adult education optional
Common questions about this move
Can a chief fire officer become a firefighter instructor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A chief fire officer already covers 49% of what a firefighter instructor is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 9 of which the firefighter instructor role treats as required.
What skills does a chief fire officer need to become a firefighter instructor?
10 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is teach fire fighting principles.
How hard is the move from chief fire officer to firefighter instructor?
Its learning distance is 54.5 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.