Environmental expert to environmental policy officer
An environmental expert already meets 49% of what the environmental policy officer role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.8/ 100
1 How much of what an environmental policy officer is expected to do is already part of an environmental expert’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 environmental policy officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An environmental policy officer role treats 11 of its required skills as things an environmental expert already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on carbon emissions reduction
- analyse environmental data
- assess environmental impact
- ecosystem management
- environmental legislation
- environmental policy
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 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An environmental policy officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an environmental expert background worth leading with.
- already held measure pollution information skills
- already held perform environmental investigations information skills
- already held environmental economics social sciences, journalism and information
- already held advise on carbon emissions reduction communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage land resources permits information skills
- already held provide training in sustainable tourism development and management communication, collaboration and creativity
All 22 carried skills, including the 11 the environmental policy officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 9 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 plan measures to safeguard natural protected areas required
- still to learn ensure compliance with environmental legislation required
- optional, not held prevent sea pollution optional
- optional, not held use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality optional
- still to learn advise on legislative acts required
- still to learn liaise with government officials required
- optional, not held advise on mining environmental issues optional
- optional, not held advise legislators optional
- still to learn government policy required
- still to learn government policy implementation required
- optional, not held policy analysis optional
- still to learn plan measures to safeguard cultural heritage required
- still to learn manage government policy implementation required
- still to learn energy conservation required
- optional, not held urban sustainability optional
- optional, not held wind energy optional
- optional, not held emission standards optional
- optional, not held sustainable manufacturing optional
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held corporate sustainability optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an environmental policy officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 measure sustainability of tourism activities practise this
- 02 plan measures to safeguard cultural heritage practise this
- 03 plan measures to safeguard natural protected areas 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 22 skills that carry over
- already held advise on carbon emissions reduction skill
- already held analyse environmental data skill
- already held assess environmental impact skill
- already held ecosystem management knowledge
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- already held environmental policy knowledge
- already held environmental threats knowledge
- already held manage land resources permits skill
- already held perform environmental investigations skill
- already held promote environmental awareness skill
- already held report on environmental issues skill
- already held advise on pollution prevention skill
- already held develop environmental policy skill
- already held environmental economics knowledge
- already held green building standards knowledge
- already held investigate pollution skill
- already held measure pollution skill
- already held monitor manufacturing impact skill
- already held pollution legislation knowledge
- already held pollution prevention knowledge
- already held provide training in sustainable tourism development and management skill
- already held report pollution incidents skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn measure sustainability of tourism activities required
- optional, not held food waste monitoring systems optional
- optional, not held ecological principles optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held advise on mining environmental issues optional
- optional, not held corporate sustainability optional
- optional, not held food waste monitoring systems optional
- optional, not held policy analysis optional
- optional, not held prevent sea pollution optional
- optional, not held urban sustainability optional
- optional, not held use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality optional
- optional, not held wind energy optional
- optional, not held advise legislators optional
- optional, not held ecological principles optional
- optional, not held emission standards optional
- optional, not held sustainable manufacturing optional
27 held skills the environmental policy officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on chemical use reduction skill
- not needed by the target role advise on environmental remediation skill
- not needed by the target role alternative energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role alternative fuels knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply scientific methods skill
- not needed by the target role assess environmental plans against financial costs skill
- not needed by the target role carry out environmental audits skill
- not needed by the target role carry out training in environmental matters skill
- not needed by the target role coastal management knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect samples for analysis skill
- not needed by the target role conduct environmental surveys skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role develop environmental remediation strategies skill
- not needed by the target role environmental design knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental management standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role habitat restoration knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect industrial equipment skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with local authorities skill
- not needed by the target role marine energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role resource-efficient technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role watershed development knowledge
- not needed by the target role work with chemicals skill
- not needed by the target role write scientific publications skill
13 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 energy conservation required
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- still to learn government policy required
- still to learn government policy implementation required
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held corporate sustainability optional
- optional, not held food waste monitoring systems optional
- optional, not held policy analysis optional
- optional, not held urban sustainability optional
- optional, not held wind energy optional
- optional, not held ecological principles optional
- optional, not held emission standards optional
- optional, not held sustainable manufacturing optional
Common questions about this move
Can an environmental expert become an environmental policy officer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An environmental expert already covers 49% of what an environmental policy officer is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 11 of which the environmental policy officer role treats as required.
What skills does an environmental expert need to become an environmental policy officer?
11 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is measure sustainability of tourism activities.
How hard is the move from environmental expert to environmental policy officer?
Its learning distance is 56.8 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.