Food production planner to food production manager
A food production planner already meets 51% of what the food production manager role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.6/ 100
1 How much of what a food production manager is expected to do is already part of a food production planner’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 food production manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A food production manager role treats 17 of its required skills as things a food production planner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse production processes for improvement
- apply GMP
- apply HACCP
- apply control process statistical methods
- apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
- communicate production plan
What stands in the way is 14 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 food production manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a food production planner background worth leading with.
- already held plan food plant production activities management skills
- already held implement short term objectives communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held ensure cost efficiency in food manufacturing management skills
- already held keep up with innovations in food manufacturing information skills
- already held apply foreign language for international trade communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held adapt production levels management skills
All 25 carried skills, including the 17 the food production manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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 set production KPI required
- still to learn supervise employees in food production plants required
- still to learn manage resources in food manufacturing required
- still to learn oversee production requirements required
- still to learn plan shifts of employees required
- still to learn set quality assurance objectives required
- optional, not held perform strategic planning in the food industry optional
- optional, not held assess environmental plans against financial costs optional
- optional, not held evaluate employees optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage medium term objectives optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held mitigate waste of resources optional
- optional, not held plan medium to long term objectives optional
- still to learn maintain relationship with customers required
- still to learn train staff to reduce food waste required
- still to learn manage corrective actions required
- optional, not held advocate for consumer matters in production plants optional
- optional, not held manage communications with food industry governmental bodies optional
- still to learn analyse trends in the food and beverage industries required
- still to learn interpret data in food manufacturing required
- still to learn identify hazards in the workplace required
- optional, not held monitor developments used for food industry optional
- still to learn financial capability required
- optional, not held legislation about animal origin products optional
- still to learn food and beverage industry required
- optional, not held molecular gastronomy optional
- optional, not held attend to detail in preparation for audits optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a food production manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 set production KPI practise this
- 02 supervise employees in food production plants practise this
- 03 analyse trends in the food and beverage industries 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 analyse production processes for improvement skill
- already held apply GMP skill
- already held apply HACCP skill
- already held apply control process statistical methods skill
- already held apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages skill
- already held communicate production plan skill
- already held control of expenses skill
- already held design indicators for food waste reduction skill
- already held develop food waste reduction strategies skill
- already held ensure cost efficiency in food manufacturing skill
- already held food legislation knowledge
- already held food waste monitoring systems knowledge
- already held implement short term objectives skill
- already held keep up with innovations in food manufacturing skill
- already held plan food plant production activities skill
- already held quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- already held use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality skill
- already held adapt production levels skill
- already held apply foreign language for international trade skill
- already held conduct research on food waste prevention skill
- already held food authentication techniques knowledge
- already held food fraud knowledge
- already held food safety standards knowledge
- already held lead process optimisation skill
- already held recruit employees skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advocate for consumer matters in production plants optional
- optional, not held legislation about animal origin products optional
- optional, not held manage communications with food industry governmental bodies optional
- optional, not held molecular gastronomy optional
- optional, not held monitor developments used for food industry optional
- optional, not held perform strategic planning in the food industry optional
- optional, not held assess environmental plans against financial costs optional
- optional, not held attend to detail in preparation for audits optional
- optional, not held evaluate employees optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage medium term objectives optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held mitigate waste of resources optional
- optional, not held plan medium to long term objectives optional
24 held skills the food production manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act reliably skill
- not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
- not needed by the target role apply scientific methods skill
- not needed by the target role be at ease in unsafe environments skill
- not needed by the target role create food production plan skill
- not needed by the target role detect bottlenecks skill
- not needed by the target role disaggregate the production plan skill
- not needed by the target role enhance production workflow skill
- not needed by the target role give instructions to staff skill
- not needed by the target role keep food laboratory inventory skill
- not needed by the target role keep up-to-date with regulations skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain updated professional knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role manage backlogs skill
- not needed by the target role meet productivity targets skill
- not needed by the target role monitor ingredient storage skill
- not needed by the target role plan schedule skill
- not needed by the target role provide written content skill
- not needed by the target role schedule regular machine maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role support management of raw materials skill
- not needed by the target role write routine reports skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
4 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 food and beverage industry required
- still to learn financial capability required
- optional, not held legislation about animal origin products optional
- optional, not held molecular gastronomy optional
Common questions about this move
Can a food production planner become a food production manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A food production planner already covers 51% of what a food production manager is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 17 of which the food production manager role treats as required.
What skills does a food production planner need to become a food production manager?
14 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is set production KPI.
How hard is the move from food production planner to food production manager?
Its learning distance is 59.6 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.