Deputy head teacher to further education principal
A deputy head teacher already meets 62% of what the further education principal role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
42.8/ 100
1 How much of what a further education principal is expected to do is already part of a deputy head teacher’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 further education principal role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A further education principal role treats 12 of its required skills as things a deputy head teacher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse staff capacity
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
- curriculum standards
- education law
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 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A further education principal role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a deputy head teacher background worth leading with.
- already held manage student admissions management skills
- already held liaise with board members communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage government-funded programmes management skills
- already held apply for government funding information skills
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held education administration business, administration and law
All 25 carried skills, including the 12 the further education principal role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 5 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 lead board meetings required
- still to learn manage school budget required
- still to learn develop organisational policies required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held manage space utilisation optional
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held identify education needs optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn liaise with educational staff required
- still to learn represent the organisation required
- optional, not held administer exams optional
- still to learn post-secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
- optional, not held university procedures optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a further education principal role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 lead board meetings practise this
- 02 manage school budget practise this
- 03 post-secondary school procedures 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 25 skills that carry over
- already held analyse staff capacity skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held education law knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held liaise with board members skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held apply for government funding skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held contract law knowledge
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held education administration knowledge
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held labour legislation knowledge
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held manage government-funded programmes skill
- already held manage student admissions skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held administer exams optional
- optional, not held manage space utilisation optional
- optional, not held university procedures optional
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
- optional, not held identify education needs optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
19 held skills the further education principal role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on lesson plans skill
- not needed by the target role advise on teaching methods skill
- not needed by the target role assess the development of youth skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role escort students on a field trip skill
- not needed by the target role kindergarten school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead inspections skill
- not needed by the target role learning technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with children's parents skill
- not needed by the target role maintain students' discipline skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role monitor student's behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare youths for adulthood skill
- not needed by the target role primary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide education management support skill
- not needed by the target role provide feedback to teachers skill
- not needed by the target role secondary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise educational staff 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 post-secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held university procedures optional
- optional, not held adult education optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
- optional, not held trade union regulations optional
Common questions about this move
Can a deputy head teacher become a further education principal?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A deputy head teacher already covers 62% of what a further education principal is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 12 of which the further education principal role treats as required.
What skills does a deputy head teacher need to become a further education principal?
7 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is lead board meetings.
How hard is the move from deputy head teacher to further education principal?
Its learning distance is 42.8 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.