Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

customer service representativetoICT 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.

From customer service representative
35%
Overlap1
To ICT help desk agent
11 Skills carried over
13 Required, not held
66.7 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

35%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

66.7/ 100

1 Share of the ICT help desk agent role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the customer service representative profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A ICT help desk agent role treats 7 of its required skills as things a customer service representative already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • 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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 21 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 working with computers 4 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held use ICT hardware required
  • required, not held provide ICT support required
  • required, not held solve ICT system problems required
  • required, not held use ICT ticketing system required
  • optional, not held implement a virtual private network optional
  • optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
02 business, administration and law 2 required
  • required, not held characteristics of services required
  • required, not held product comprehension required
03 information skills 2 required
  • required, not held keep up to date on product knowledge required
  • required, not held keep task records required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held support ICT system users required
  • optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
  • optional, not held handle helpdesk problems optional
05 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held ICT system user requirements required
  • optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
06 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held assist customers required
  • optional, not held answer incoming calls optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a ICT help desk agent 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 11 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • 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
Skill to acquire Tier
07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held characteristics of products required
  • optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
08 management skills 1 required
  • required, not held prioritise requests required
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • 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
Skill Type
  • 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.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held ICT system user requirements required
  • required, not held characteristics of products required
  • required, not held characteristics of services required
  • required, not held product comprehension required
  • optional, not held ICT help platforms optional
  • optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
  • optional, not held information confidentiality optional
Index

Other moves recorded from customer service representative

Full index of moves from customer service representative

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.