Embalmer to funeral services director
An embalmer already meets 41% of what the funeral services director role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
62.6/ 100
1 How much of what a funeral services director is expected to do is already part of an embalmer’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 funeral services director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A funeral services director role treats 9 of its required skills as things an embalmer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- administer appointments
- advise on funeral services
- apply health and safety standards
- apply organisational techniques
- manage staff
- prepare ceremonial locations
What stands in the way is 11 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 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A funeral services director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an embalmer background worth leading with.
- already held dress bodies handling and moving
- already held embalm bodies assisting and caring
- already held assist with funeral planning management skills
- already held advise on funeral services communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepare ceremonial locations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held transfer coffins handling and moving
All 17 carried skills, including the 9 the funeral services director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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.
- still to learn develop organisational policies required
- still to learn maintain personal hygiene standards required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn manage financial aspects of a company required
- still to learn recruit employees required
- optional, not held apply business acumen optional
- optional, not held coordinate catering optional
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn maintain customer service required
- still to learn train employees required
- optional, not held manage emergency evacuation plans optional
- optional, not held perform religious ceremonies optional
- optional, not held respond to visitor complaints optional
- still to learn greet guests required
- optional, not held provide emotional support to the bereaved optional
- optional, not held provide visitor information optional
- optional, not held relate empathetically optional
- still to learn oversee cremations required
- optional, not held analyse financial performance of a company optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
- still to learn business knowledge required
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held prepare coffins for cremation optional
- optional, not held manage funeral equipment optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a funeral services director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 oversee cremations practise this
- 02 business knowledge study this
- 03 develop organisational policies 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 17 skills that carry over
- already held administer appointments skill
- already held advise on funeral services skill
- already held apply health and safety standards skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held prepare ceremonial locations skill
- already held promote human rights skill
- already held provide directions to guests skill
- already held show diplomacy skill
- already held assist with funeral planning skill
- already held dress bodies skill
- already held embalm bodies skill
- already held liaise with local authorities skill
- already held maintain inventory of tools skill
- already held maintain professional administration skill
- already held transfer coffins skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held operate cremation equipment optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles in processions optional
- optional, not held control minor maintenance optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held operate cremation equipment optional
- optional, not held prepare coffins for cremation optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles in processions optional
- optional, not held manage funeral equipment optional
- optional, not held provide emotional support to the bereaved optional
- optional, not held analyse financial performance of a company optional
- optional, not held apply business acumen optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held control minor maintenance optional
- optional, not held coordinate catering optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
- optional, not held manage emergency evacuation plans optional
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
- optional, not held perform religious ceremonies optional
- optional, not held provide visitor information optional
- optional, not held relate empathetically optional
- optional, not held respond to visitor complaints optional
10 held skills the funeral services director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assist police investigations skill
- not needed by the target role biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role clean rooms skill
- not needed by the target role cooperate with funeral directors skill
- not needed by the target role cosmetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role dermasurgery techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role lift heavy weights skill
- not needed by the target role move bodies of deceased persons skill
- not needed by the target role work with chemicals skill
2 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 business knowledge required
- optional, not held business management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can an embalmer become a funeral services director?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An embalmer already covers 41% of what a funeral services director is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 9 of which the funeral services director role treats as required.
What skills does an embalmer need to become a funeral services director?
11 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is oversee cremations.
How hard is the move from embalmer to funeral services director?
Its learning distance is 62.6 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.