Educational counsellor to learning mentor
An educational counsellor already meets 72% of what the learning mentor role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
30.7/ 100
1 How much of what a learning mentor 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 learning mentor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A learning mentor role treats 14 of its required skills as things an educational counsellor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist students in their learning
- behavioural disorders
- communicate with youth
- consult student's support system
- counsel students
- learning difficulties
What stands in the way is 3 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 learning mentor 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.
- already held school psychology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held counsel students communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held developmental psychology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held learning needs analysis education
- already held show consideration for student's situation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held primary school procedures education
All 25 carried skills, including the 14 the learning mentor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 6 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 encourage students to acknowledge their achievements required
- optional, not held assist students with their enrolment optional
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held construct individual learning plans optional
- optional, not held organise projects to fill education needs optional
- still to learn adapt teaching to student's capabilities required
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- optional, not held provide teacher support optional
- optional, not held support the positiveness of youths optional
- still to learn communication disorders required
- optional, not held apply person-centred care optional
- optional, not held perform playground surveillance optional
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held social development optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a learning mentor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adapt teaching to student's capabilities practise this
- 02 communication disorders study this
- 03 encourage students to acknowledge their achievements practise 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 assist students in their learning skill
- already held behavioural disorders knowledge
- already held communicate with youth skill
- already held consult student's support system skill
- already held counsel students skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held learning needs analysis knowledge
- already held liaise with educational staff skill
- already held liaise with educational support staff skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held monitor student's behaviour skill
- already held oversee extra-curricular activities skill
- already held show consideration for student's situation skill
- already held support children's wellbeing skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held counselling methods knowledge
- already held developmental psychology knowledge
- already held education law knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held primary school procedures knowledge
- already held psychology knowledge
- already held school psychology knowledge
- already held secondary school procedures knowledge
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply person-centred care optional
- optional, not held assist students with their enrolment optional
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held construct individual learning plans optional
- optional, not held organise projects to fill education needs optional
- optional, not held perform playground surveillance optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- optional, not held provide teacher support optional
- optional, not held support the positiveness of youths optional
24 held skills the learning mentor role does not ask for
- 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 assessment processes 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 community education knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct educational activities skill
- not needed by the target role crisis intervention 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 liaise with educational institutions skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with children's parents skill
- not needed by the target role monitor educational developments skill
- not needed by the target role perform educational testing skill
- not needed by the target role post-secondary 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 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
3 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 communication disorders required
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held action research optional
Other moves recorded from educational counsellor
- educational psychologist 64% covered · moderate
- academic advisor 58% covered · moderate
- academic support officer 56% covered · moderate
- special educational needs itinerant teacher 44% covered · substantial
- admissions coordinator 39% covered · moderate
- learning support teacher 35% covered · substantial
- tutor 35% covered · substantial
- career guidance advisor 32% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can an educational counsellor become a learning mentor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An educational counsellor already covers 72% of what a learning mentor is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 14 of which the learning mentor role treats as required.
What skills does an educational counsellor need to become a learning mentor?
3 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is adapt teaching to student's capabilities.
How hard is the move from educational counsellor to learning mentor?
Its learning distance is 30.7 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.