Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Educational counsellor to head of higher education institutions

An educational counsellor already meets 31% of what the head of higher education institutions role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From educational counsellor
31 % overlap
Distant match
To head of higher education institutions
11 You already bring
12 Still to learn
43 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

69.7/ 100

1 How much of what a head of higher education institutions is expected to do is already part of an educational counsellor’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 head of higher education institutions role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A head of higher education institutions role treats 7 of its required skills as things an educational counsellor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • assist in the organisation of school events
  • cooperate with education professionals
  • education law
  • guarantee students' safety
  • liaise with educational staff
  • liaise with educational support staff

What stands in the way is 12 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 head of higher education institutions role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an educational counsellor background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held identify education needs management skills
  • already held education law business, administration and law
  • already held post-secondary school procedures education
  • already held cooperate with education professionals communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held liaise with educational staff communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held monitor educational developments information skills

All 11 carried skills, including the 7 the head of higher education institutions role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 32 missing skills fall into 7 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 management skills 6 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn lead board meetings required
  • still to learn manage school budget required
  • still to learn analyse staff capacity required
  • still to learn assess students required
  • still to learn develop organisational policies required
  • still to learn manage staff required
  • optional, not held manage space utilisation optional
  • optional, not held manage student admissions optional
  • optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
  • optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
  • optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn liaise with board members required
  • still to learn present reports required
  • still to learn represent the organisation required
  • still to learn write work-related reports required
  • optional, not held develop professional network optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held promote education course optional
  • optional, not held promote education programmes optional
03 education 2 required
  • still to learn curriculum objectives required
  • still to learn curriculum standards required
04 business, administration and law 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held university procedures optional
  • optional, not held contract law optional
  • optional, not held education administration optional
  • optional, not held funding methods optional
  • optional, not held labour legislation optional
05 information skills 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held analyse curriculum optional
  • optional, not held apply for government funding optional
  • optional, not held evaluate education programmes optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held green space strategies optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a head of higher education institutions 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 assist in the organisation of school events skill
  • already held cooperate with education professionals skill
  • already held education law knowledge
  • already held guarantee students' safety skill
  • already held liaise with educational staff skill
  • already held liaise with educational support staff skill
  • already held monitor educational developments skill
  • already held assessment processes knowledge
  • already held identify education needs skill
  • already held learning difficulties knowledge
  • already held post-secondary school procedures knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 services 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held trade union regulations optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held manage space utilisation optional
  • optional, not held manage student admissions optional
  • optional, not held university procedures optional
  • optional, not held analyse curriculum optional
  • optional, not held apply for government funding optional
  • optional, not held assess employees' capability levels optional
  • optional, not held contract law optional
  • optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
  • optional, not held develop professional network optional
  • optional, not held education administration optional
  • optional, not held evaluate education programmes optional
  • optional, not held funding methods optional
  • optional, not held green space strategies optional
  • optional, not held labour legislation optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
  • optional, not held promote education course optional
  • optional, not held promote education programmes optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
  • optional, not held trade union regulations optional
38 held skills the head of higher education institutions role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role adolescent psychological development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role adult education knowledge
  • not needed by the target role advise on learning methods skill
  • not needed by the target role apply crisis intervention skill
  • not needed by the target role assist students in their learning skill
  • not needed by the target role behavioural disorders knowledge
  • not needed by the target role client-centred counselling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate about youth's well-being skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
  • not needed by the target role community education knowledge
  • not needed by the target role conduct educational activities skill
  • not needed by the target role consult student's support system skill
  • not needed by the target role counsel students skill
  • not needed by the target role counselling methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role crisis intervention knowledge
  • not needed by the target role developmental psychology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role establish educational network skill
  • not needed by the target role inspect education institutions skill
  • not needed by the target role learning needs analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liaise with educational institutions skill
  • not needed by the target role listen actively skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain relations with children's parents skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor student's behaviour skill
  • not needed by the target role oversee extra-curricular activities skill
  • not needed by the target role perform educational testing skill
  • not needed by the target role primary school procedures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role provide career counselling skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on education financing skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on study programmes skill
  • not needed by the target role psychological counselling methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role school psychology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role secondary school procedures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role show consideration for student's situation skill
  • not needed by the target role support children's wellbeing skill
  • not needed by the target role tackle issues that block academic progress skill
  • not needed by the target role use psychoeducation skill
  • not needed by the target role work in vocational school skill
9 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 curriculum objectives required
  • still to learn curriculum standards required
  • optional, not held university procedures optional
  • optional, not held contract law optional
  • optional, not held education administration optional
  • optional, not held funding methods optional
  • optional, not held green space strategies optional
  • optional, not held labour legislation optional
  • optional, not held trade union regulations optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an educational counsellor become a head of higher education institutions?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An educational counsellor already covers 31% of what a head of higher education institutions is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 7 of which the head of higher education institutions role treats as required.

What skills does an educational counsellor need to become a head of higher education institutions?

12 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is lead board meetings.

How hard is the move from educational counsellor to head of higher education institutions?

Its learning distance is 69.7 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.