City councillor to senator
A city councillor already meets 39% of what the senator role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
57/ 100
1 How much of what a senator is expected to do is already part of a city councillor’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 senator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A senator role treats 4 of its required skills as things a city councillor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse legislation
- good governance
- government policy implementation
- perform political negotiation
What stands in the way is 7 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A senator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a city councillor background worth leading with.
- already held analyse legislation information skills
- already held political parties social sciences, journalism and information
- already held perform political negotiation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held good governance social sciences, journalism and information
- already held public administration social sciences, journalism and information
- already held public law business, administration and law
All 12 carried skills, including the 4 the senator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 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 engage in debates required
- still to learn present legislation proposition required
- optional, not held apply conflict management optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held perform public relations optional
- still to learn constitutional law required
- still to learn legislation procedure required
- still to learn make legislative decisions required
- still to learn prepare legislation proposition required
- still to learn government representation required
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held rhetoric optional
- optional, not held perform government ceremonies optional
- optional, not held monitor political conflicts optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a senator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 engage in debates practise this
- 02 make legislative decisions practise this
- 03 prepare legislation proposition 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held analyse legislation skill
- already held good governance knowledge
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held perform political negotiation skill
- already held advise on legislative acts skill
- already held budgetary principles knowledge
- already held manage administrative systems skill
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held political parties knowledge
- already held public administration knowledge
- already held public finance knowledge
- already held public law knowledge
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held perform government ceremonies optional
- optional, not held apply conflict management optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held conduct public presentations optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held monitor political conflicts optional
- optional, not held perform public relations optional
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held rhetoric optional
15 held skills the senator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse community needs skill
- not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role build community relations skill
- not needed by the target role election law knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect government expenditures skill
- not needed by the target role inspect government incomes skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with local representatives skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationships with government agencies skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote political campaign skill
- not needed by the target role write meeting reports 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 constitutional law required
- still to learn government representation required
- still to learn legislation procedure required
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held rhetoric optional
Other moves recorded from city councillor
Common questions about this move
Can a city councillor become a senator?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A city councillor already covers 39% of what a senator is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 4 of which the senator role treats as required.
What skills does a city councillor need to become a senator?
7 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 engage in debates.
How hard is the move from city councillor to senator?
Its learning distance is 57 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.