Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

ergonomisttoindustrial designer

A ergonomist already meets 51% of what the industrial designer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

From ergonomist
51%
Overlap1
To industrial designer
27 Skills carried over
6 Required, not held
58.1 Difficulty2
Career overlap Partial match

51%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

58.1/ 100

1 Share of the industrial designer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the ergonomist profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A industrial designer role treats 14 of its required skills as things a ergonomist already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • aesthetics
  • conduct research on trends in design
  • copyright legislation
  • design principles
  • determine suitability of materials
  • draft design specifications

What stands in the way is 6 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 27 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A industrial designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a ergonomist background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held write manuals communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held adapt to new design materials information skills
  • already held consult with design team communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held industrial design arts and humanities
  • already held conduct research on trends in design information skills
  • already held ergonomics services

All 27 carried skills, including the 14 the industrial designer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 40 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 8 supplementary
  • required, not held perform ideation activities required
  • required, not held liaise with engineers required
  • required, not held present artistic design proposals required
  • optional, not held attend design meetings optional
  • optional, not held design package optional
  • optional, not held develop jewellery designs optional
  • optional, not held prospect new customers optional
  • optional, not held think creatively about jewellery optional
  • optional, not held collaborate with engineers optional
  • optional, not held draw blueprints optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
02 information skills 1 required, 6 supplementary
  • required, not held perform market research required
  • optional, not held calculate design costs optional
  • optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
  • optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
  • optional, not held determine production feasibility optional
  • optional, not held monitor production developments optional
  • optional, not held perform physical stress tests on models optional
03 management skills 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held meet deadlines required
  • optional, not held coordinate manufacturing production activities optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
  • optional, not held plan event marketing for promotional campaigns optional
04 business, administration and law 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held design management required
  • optional, not held cost management optional
05 engineering, manufacturing and construction 6 supplementary
  • optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
  • optional, not held types of glazing optional
  • optional, not held types of toy materials optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held types of packaging materials optional
06 working with computers 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held use CAE software optional
  • optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
  • optional, not held use specialised design software optional

5 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a industrial designer 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 27 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held aesthetics knowledge
  • already held conduct research on trends in design skill
  • already held copyright legislation knowledge
  • already held design principles knowledge
  • already held determine suitability of materials skill
  • already held draft design specifications skill
  • already held draw design sketches skill
  • already held engineering principles knowledge
  • already held engineering processes knowledge
  • already held ergonomics knowledge
  • already held follow a brief skill
  • already held industrial design knowledge
  • already held manufacturing processes knowledge
  • already held mathematics knowledge
  • already held 3D modelling knowledge
  • already held adapt existing designs to changed circumstances skill
  • already held adapt to new design materials skill
  • already held apply 3D imaging techniques skill
  • already held build a product's physical model skill
  • already held consult with design team skill
  • already held create a product's virtual model skill
  • already held design prototypes skill
  • already held identify customer's needs skill
  • already held prepare production prototypes skill
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held use technical drawing software skill
  • already held write manuals skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 arts and humanities 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held ceramic ware optional
  • optional, not held jewellery processes optional
08 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held CAM software optional
  • optional, not held CAD software optional
09 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held produce sustainable products optional
10 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held build jewellery models optional
11 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
34 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held CAM software optional
  • optional, not held attend design meetings optional
  • optional, not held build jewellery models optional
  • optional, not held calculate design costs optional
  • optional, not held ceramic ware optional
  • optional, not held cost management optional
  • optional, not held design package optional
  • optional, not held develop jewellery designs optional
  • optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
  • optional, not held jewellery processes optional
  • optional, not held prospect new customers optional
  • optional, not held think creatively about jewellery optional
  • optional, not held types of glazing optional
  • optional, not held types of toy materials optional
  • optional, not held use CAE software optional
  • optional, not held CAD software optional
  • optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
  • optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
  • optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
  • optional, not held collaborate with engineers optional
  • optional, not held coordinate manufacturing production activities optional
  • optional, not held determine production feasibility optional
  • optional, not held draw blueprints optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held monitor production developments optional
  • optional, not held perform physical stress tests on models optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
  • optional, not held plan event marketing for promotional campaigns optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
  • optional, not held produce sustainable products optional
  • optional, not held types of packaging materials optional
  • optional, not held use specialised design software optional
6 held skills the industrial designer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role assess ergonomics of the workplace skill
  • not needed by the target role gather feedback from employees skill
  • not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role occupational health knowledge
  • not needed by the target role occupational physiology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role teach ergonomics in work place 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.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held design management required
  • optional, not held CAM software optional
  • optional, not held ceramic ware optional
  • optional, not held cost management optional
  • optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
  • optional, not held jewellery processes optional
  • optional, not held types of glazing optional
  • optional, not held types of toy materials optional
  • optional, not held CAD software optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
  • optional, not held types of packaging materials optional
Index
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.