Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Energy assessor to solar energy sales consultant

An energy assessor already meets 37% of what the solar energy sales consultant 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 energy assessor
37 % overlap
Distant match
To solar energy sales consultant
13 You already bring
10 Still to learn
44 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

66.3/ 100

1 How much of what a solar energy sales consultant is expected to do is already part of an energy assessor’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 solar energy sales consultant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A solar energy sales consultant role treats 9 of its required skills as things an energy assessor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on heating systems energy efficiency
  • domestic heating systems
  • electricity market
  • energy conservation
  • energy efficiency
  • promote environmental awareness

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 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A solar energy sales consultant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an energy assessor background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held provide information on solar panels assisting and caring
  • already held advise on utility consumption communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held domestic heating systems engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held advise on heating systems energy efficiency communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held electricity market business, administration and law
  • already held identify energy needs information skills

All 13 carried skills, including the 9 the solar energy sales consultant role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 11 supplementary
  • still to learn identify customer's needs required
  • still to learn inform customers on energy consumption fees required
  • still to learn develop professional network required
  • still to learn inform on government funding required
  • optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
  • optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
  • optional, not held manage distribution of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held manage production of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held negotiate improvement with suppliers optional
  • optional, not held negotiate sales contracts optional
  • optional, not held prospect new customers optional
  • optional, not held answer requests for quotation optional
  • optional, not held attend trade fairs optional
  • optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
  • optional, not held negotiate terms with suppliers optional
02 engineering, manufacturing and construction 4 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn characteristics of products required
  • still to learn photovoltaic systems required
  • still to learn industrial heating systems required
  • still to learn solar products required
  • optional, not held electricity optional
03 business, administration and law 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn characteristics of services required
  • optional, not held sales argumentation optional
  • optional, not held sales promotion techniques optional
  • optional, not held sales strategies optional
04 assisting and caring 1 required
  • still to learn assess customers required
05 information skills 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held assess supplier risks optional
  • optional, not held carry out sales analysis optional
  • optional, not held prepare sales checks optional
  • optional, not held perform market research optional
  • optional, not held review completed contracts optional
06 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held identify suppliers optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a solar energy sales consultant 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 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advise on heating systems energy efficiency skill
  • already held domestic heating systems knowledge
  • already held electricity market knowledge
  • already held energy conservation knowledge
  • already held energy efficiency knowledge
  • already held promote environmental awareness skill
  • already held promote sustainable energy skill
  • already held provide information on solar panels skill
  • already held solar energy knowledge
  • already held advise on utility consumption skill
  • already held energy performance of buildings knowledge
  • already held identify energy needs skill
  • already held renewable energy knowledge
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held assess supplier risks optional
  • optional, not held carry out sales analysis optional
  • optional, not held deliver a sales pitch optional
  • optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
  • optional, not held manage distribution of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held manage production of destination promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held negotiate improvement with suppliers optional
  • optional, not held negotiate sales contracts optional
  • optional, not held prepare sales checks optional
  • optional, not held prospect new customers optional
  • optional, not held sales argumentation optional
  • optional, not held sales promotion techniques optional
  • optional, not held sales strategies optional
  • optional, not held answer requests for quotation optional
  • optional, not held attend trade fairs optional
  • optional, not held electricity optional
  • optional, not held identify suppliers optional
  • optional, not held implement marketing strategies optional
  • optional, not held negotiate terms with suppliers optional
  • optional, not held perform market research optional
  • optional, not held review completed contracts optional
12 held skills the solar energy sales consultant role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse energy consumption skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out energy management of facilities skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct energy audit skill
  • not needed by the target role electricity consumption knowledge
  • not needed by the target role green building standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform a feasibility study on combined heat and power skill
  • not needed by the target role perform a feasibility study on electric heating skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare energy performance contracts skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on geothermal heat pumps skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on wind turbines skill
  • not needed by the target role sustainability consulting knowledge
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 characteristics of products required
  • still to learn characteristics of services required
  • still to learn photovoltaic systems required
  • still to learn industrial heating systems required
  • still to learn solar products required
  • optional, not held sales argumentation optional
  • optional, not held sales promotion techniques optional
  • optional, not held sales strategies optional
  • optional, not held electricity optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an energy assessor become a solar energy sales consultant?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An energy assessor already covers 37% of what a solar energy sales consultant is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 9 of which the solar energy sales consultant role treats as required.

What skills does an energy assessor need to become a solar energy sales consultant?

10 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is assess customers.

How hard is the move from energy assessor to solar energy sales consultant?

Its learning distance is 66.3 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.