Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Document management officer to archivist

A document management officer already meets 32% of what the archivist role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From document management officer
32 % overlap
Distant match
To archivist
8 You already bring
10 Still to learn
27 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

68.1/ 100

1 How much of what an archivist is expected to do is already part of a document management 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 archivist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An archivist role treats 5 of its required skills as things a document management officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • appraise historical documents
  • digitization
  • facilitate access to information
  • manage digital archives
  • respect data protection principles

What stands in the way is 10 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An archivist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a document management officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held appraise historical documents information skills
  • already held facilitate access to information information skills
  • already held develop classification systems information skills
  • already held respect data protection principles assisting and caring
  • already held use software for data preservation working with computers
  • already held digitization social sciences, journalism and information

All 8 carried skills, including the 5 the archivist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 19 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn create semantic trees required
  • still to learn perform records management required
  • still to learn study a collection required
  • optional, not held manage information access aids optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required
  • still to learn contextualise records collection required
  • still to learn write scientific publications required
03 management skills 1 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn manage archive users guidelines required
  • optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held manage human resources optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
04 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn aid archive users with their enquiries required
  • optional, not held perform customer management optional
05 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn collection management required
  • optional, not held digital curation optional
06 arts and humanities 1 required
  • still to learn conservation techniques required

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an archivist 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 8 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held appraise historical documents skill
  • already held digitization knowledge
  • already held facilitate access to information skill
  • already held manage digital archives skill
  • already held respect data protection principles skill
  • already held develop classification systems skill
  • already held digitise documents skill
  • already held use software for data preservation skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 handling and moving 1 required
  • still to learn store archival documents required
08 working with computers 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held manage digital documents optional
  • optional, not held use databases optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held digital curation optional
  • optional, not held manage information access aids optional
  • optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held manage digital documents optional
  • optional, not held manage human resources optional
  • optional, not held perform customer management optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
  • optional, not held use databases optional
52 held skills the archivist role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role Adobe Illustrator knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT infrastructure knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT project management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT security standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Microsoft Access knowledge
  • not needed by the target role access to documents regulations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse business processes skill
  • not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
  • not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role assess reliability of data skill
  • not needed by the target role business process modelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate with stakeholders skill
  • not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
  • not needed by the target role database management systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop information standards skill
  • not needed by the target role develop organisational policies skill
  • not needed by the target role document management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role document sharing procedures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role documentation types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role draft tender documentation skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure information transparency skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure proper document management skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate tender skill
  • not needed by the target role file documents skill
  • not needed by the target role government policy implementation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role information architecture knowledge
  • not needed by the target role information categorisation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
  • not needed by the target role intellectual property law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role internal risk management policy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role maintain computer hardware skill
  • not needed by the target role manage archive skill
  • not needed by the target role manage content metadata skill
  • not needed by the target role manage data collection systems skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor developments in field of expertise skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor legislation developments skill
  • not needed by the target role operate relational database management system skill
  • not needed by the target role organisational structure knowledge

12 further entries not listed here

3 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 collection management required
  • still to learn conservation techniques required
  • optional, not held digital curation optional
Index

Other moves recorded from document management officer

Full index of moves from document management officer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a document management officer become an archivist?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A document management officer already covers 32% of what an archivist is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 5 of which the archivist role treats as required.

What skills does a document management officer need to become an archivist?

10 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is aid archive users with their enquiries.

How hard is the move from document management officer to archivist?

Its learning distance is 68.1 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.