RecordMove

Countryside officer to landscape gardener

A countryside officer already meets 28% of what the landscape gardener role asks for. The move turns on 22 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From countryside officer

Distant match

To landscape gardener

12 You already bring

22 Still to learn

54 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance A rebuild

79.1/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a landscape gardener is expected to do is already part of a countryside 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 landscape gardener role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A landscape gardener role treats 11 of its required skills as things a countryside officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

build fences
de-limb trees
environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry
execute disease and pest control activities
perform pest control
perform weed control operations

What stands in the way is 22 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A landscape gardener role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a countryside officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held build fences constructing
already held build garden masonry constructing
already held plant green plants handling and moving
already held perform pest control assisting and caring
already held perform weed control operations handling and moving
already held prepare planting area handling and moving

All 12 carried skills, including the 11 the landscape gardener role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 42 missing skills fall into 10 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 handling and moving 13 required, 3 supplementary

still to learn grow plants required
still to learn maintain ground required
still to learn nurse plants required
still to learn nurse trees required
still to learn prepare the ground required
still to learn propagate plants required
still to learn prune hedges and trees required
still to learn prune plants required
still to learn put up signs required
still to learn transport physical resources within the work area required
still to learn use gardening equipment required
still to learn handling chemical products for soil and plants required
still to learn maintain landscape site required

optional, not held assist in interior plant projects optional
optional, not held create garden areas optional
optional, not held establish vertical gardens optional

02 agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary 4 required, 3 supplementary

still to learn horticulture principles required
still to learn landscaping materials required
still to learn pruning techniques required
still to learn pruning types required

optional, not held crop production principles optional
optional, not held organic farming optional
optional, not held agronomy optional

03 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn principles of landscape construction required

optional, not held rainwater management optional

04 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn ecology required

optional, not held herbicides sprayers optional

05 arts and humanities 1 required

still to learn design principles required

06 assisting and caring 1 required

still to learn work in outdoor conditions required

4 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a landscape gardener 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 12 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held build fences skill
already held de-limb trees skill
already held environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry knowledge
already held execute disease and pest control activities skill
already held perform pest control skill
already held perform weed control operations skill
already held pest control in plants knowledge
already held plant disease control knowledge
already held plant green plants skill
already held plant species knowledge
already held prepare planting area skill
already held build garden masonry skill

The 4 learning areas not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required

still to learn operate landscaping equipment required

08 management skills 6 supplementary

optional, not held supervise landscape projects optional
optional, not held lead hard landscape projects optional
optional, not held make decisions regarding landscaping optional
optional, not held manage agricultural staff optional
optional, not held manage landscape design projects optional
optional, not held manage time in landscaping optional

09 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 supplementary

optional, not held develop architectural plans optional
optional, not held establish green roof optional
optional, not held prepare flower arrangements optional
optional, not held work in a landscape team optional

10 constructing 2 supplementary

optional, not held manage rainwater optional
optional, not held prepare site for construction optional

20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held supervise landscape projects optional
optional, not held assist in interior plant projects optional
optional, not held create garden areas optional
optional, not held crop production principles optional
optional, not held develop architectural plans optional
optional, not held establish green roof optional
optional, not held establish vertical gardens optional
optional, not held herbicides sprayers optional
optional, not held lead hard landscape projects optional
optional, not held make decisions regarding landscaping optional
optional, not held manage agricultural staff optional
optional, not held manage landscape design projects optional
optional, not held manage rainwater optional
optional, not held manage time in landscaping optional
optional, not held organic farming optional
optional, not held prepare flower arrangements optional
optional, not held prepare site for construction optional
optional, not held rainwater management optional
optional, not held work in a landscape team optional
optional, not held agronomy optional

36 held skills the landscape gardener role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role advise on fertiliser and herbicide skill
not needed by the target role animal species knowledge
not needed by the target role apply forest legislation skill
not needed by the target role characteristics of plants knowledge
not needed by the target role conduct land surveys skill
not needed by the target role conserve natural resources skill
not needed by the target role develop forestry strategies skill
not needed by the target role develop natural areas works programmes skill
not needed by the target role ensure aquaculture personnel health and safety skill
not needed by the target role estimate costs in farm skill
not needed by the target role fire-fighting systems knowledge
not needed by the target role forest ecology knowledge
not needed by the target role harvest crop skill
not needed by the target role identify plants characteristics skill
not needed by the target role lead a team in forestry services skill
not needed by the target role maintain technical equipment skill
not needed by the target role maintain turf and grass skill
not needed by the target role make independent operating decisions skill
not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
not needed by the target role manage crop production skill
not needed by the target role manage staff skill
not needed by the target role manage time in forestry skill
not needed by the target role manage waste skill
not needed by the target role manage waste rock skill
not needed by the target role minimize risks in tree operations skill
not needed by the target role natural areas maintenance knowledge
not needed by the target role operate horticulture equipment skill
not needed by the target role operate turf management equipment skill
not needed by the target role perform outdoor cleaning activities skill
not needed by the target role plant harvest methods knowledge
not needed by the target role read maps skill
not needed by the target role seed the ground skill
not needed by the target role soil structure knowledge
not needed by the target role support volunteers skill
not needed by the target role sustainable forest management knowledge
not needed by the target role waste management knowledge

12 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 horticulture principles required
still to learn landscaping materials required
still to learn principles of landscape construction required
still to learn pruning techniques required
still to learn pruning types required
still to learn design principles required
still to learn ecology required
optional, not held crop production principles optional
optional, not held herbicides sprayers optional
optional, not held organic farming optional
optional, not held rainwater management optional
optional, not held agronomy optional

Index

Other moves recorded from countryside officer

Full index of moves from countryside officer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a countryside officer become a landscape gardener?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A countryside officer already covers 28% of what a landscape gardener is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 11 of which the landscape gardener role treats as required.

What skills does a countryside officer need to become a landscape gardener?

22 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is grow plants.

How hard is the move from countryside officer to landscape gardener?

Its learning distance is 79.1 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.