Customer service representative to ICT help desk agent
A customer service representative already meets 35% of what the ICT help desk agent role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.7/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT help desk agent is expected to do is already part of a customer service representative’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 ICT help desk agent role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT help desk agent role treats 7 of its required skills as things a customer service representative already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate with customers
- create solutions to problems
- guarantee customer satisfaction
- identify customer's needs
- manage schedule of tasks
- provide customer follow-up services
What stands in the way is 13 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 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ICT help desk agent role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a customer service representative background worth leading with.
- already held perform escalation procedure communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held knowledge base information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held use e-services working with computers
- already held use customer relationship management software working with computers
- already held manage schedule of tasks management skills
- already held perform data analysis working with computers
All 11 carried skills, including the 7 the ICT help desk agent role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 8 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 use ICT hardware required
- still to learn provide ICT support required
- still to learn solve ICT system problems required
- still to learn use ICT ticketing system required
- optional, not held implement a virtual private network optional
- optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- still to learn keep up to date on product knowledge required
- still to learn keep task records required
- still to learn support ICT system users required
- optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
- optional, not held handle helpdesk problems optional
- still to learn ICT system user requirements required
- optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- still to learn assist customers required
- optional, not held answer incoming calls optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an ICT help desk agent role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ICT system user requirements study this
- 02 assist customers practise this
- 03 characteristics of products study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manage schedule of tasks skill
- already held provide customer follow-up services skill
- already held use customer relationship management software skill
- already held knowledge base knowledge
- already held perform data analysis skill
- already held perform escalation procedure skill
- already held use e-services skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn characteristics of products required
- optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
- still to learn prioritise requests required
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
- optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
- optional, not held implement a virtual private network optional
- optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
- optional, not held answer incoming calls optional
- optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
- optional, not held handle helpdesk problems optional
28 held skills the ICT help desk agent role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role carry out active selling skill
- not needed by the target role consumer protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role contact customers skill
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role data mining methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine charges for customer services skill
- not needed by the target role e-commerce systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure client orientation skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate official agreement skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role implement customer follow-up skill
- not needed by the target role keep records of customer interaction skill
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
- not needed by the target role perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- not needed by the target role process customer orders skill
- not needed by the target role process data skill
- not needed by the target role process order forms with customer's information skill
- not needed by the target role process refunds skill
- not needed by the target role provide information skill
- not needed by the target role relationship marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role sales activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role show diplomacy skill
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role upsell products skill
7 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 ICT system user requirements required
- still to learn characteristics of products required
- still to learn characteristics of services required
- still to learn product comprehension required
- optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
- optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
- optional, not held information confidentiality optional
Other moves recorded from customer service representative
- sales processor 45% covered · substantial
- after-sales service technician 44% covered · substantial
- call centre agent 44% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in office machinery and equipment 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in chemical products 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in agricultural machinery and equipment 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in mining and construction machinery 35% covered · substantial
- technical sales representative in hardware, plumbing and heating equipment 35% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a customer service representative become an ICT help desk agent?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A customer service representative already covers 35% of what an ICT help desk agent is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 7 of which the ICT help desk agent role treats as required.
What skills does a customer service representative need to become an ICT help desk agent?
13 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is ICT system user requirements.
How hard is the move from customer service representative to ICT help desk agent?
Its learning distance is 66.7 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.