Forester to countryside officer
A forester already meets 19% of what the countryside officer role asks for. The move turns on 25 required skills not yet in the profile.
84.5/ 100
1 How much of what a countryside officer is expected to do is already part of a forester’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 countryside officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A countryside officer role treats 6 of its required skills as things a forester already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- de-limb trees
- develop natural areas works programmes
- manage budgets
- manage staff
- pest control in plants
- plant disease control
What stands in the way is 25 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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A countryside officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a forester background worth leading with.
- already held develop natural areas works programmes management skills
- already held manage time in forestry management skills
- already held apply forest legislation assisting and caring
- already held sustainable forest management agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
- already held de-limb trees handling and moving
- already held plant disease control agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
All 9 carried skills, including the 6 the countryside officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 39 missing skills fall into 11 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 identify plants characteristics required
- still to learn manage crop production required
- still to learn manage waste rock required
- still to learn perform weed control operations required
- still to learn plant green plants required
- still to learn prepare planting area required
- optional, not held seed the ground optional
- optional, not held harvest crop optional
- optional, not held maintain turf and grass optional
- optional, not held manage waste optional
- optional, not held perform outdoor cleaning activities optional
- still to learn estimate costs in farm required
- still to learn minimize risks in tree operations required
- still to learn maintain technical equipment required
- still to learn read maps required
- optional, not held conduct land surveys optional
- still to learn natural areas maintenance required
- still to learn plant species required
- still to learn animal species required
- still to learn characteristics of plants required
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- still to learn conserve natural resources required
- still to learn execute disease and pest control activities required
- still to learn perform pest control required
- still to learn ensure aquaculture personnel health and safety required
- still to learn build fences required
- still to learn build garden masonry required
- still to learn operate horticulture equipment required
- still to learn operate turf management equipment required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a countryside officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on fertiliser and herbicide practise this
- 02 build fences practise this
- 03 build garden masonry 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 9 skills that carry over
- already held de-limb trees skill
- already held develop natural areas works programmes skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held pest control in plants knowledge
- already held plant disease control knowledge
- already held apply forest legislation skill
- already held manage time in forestry skill
- already held sustainable forest management knowledge
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn lead a team in forestry services required
- optional, not held develop forestry strategies optional
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
- still to learn advise on fertiliser and herbicide required
- optional, not held support volunteers optional
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- optional, not held plant harvest methods optional
- optional, not held soil structure optional
- optional, not held fire-fighting systems optional
- optional, not held waste management optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held seed the ground optional
- optional, not held conduct land surveys optional
- optional, not held develop forestry strategies optional
- optional, not held harvest crop optional
- optional, not held maintain turf and grass optional
- optional, not held plant harvest methods optional
- optional, not held soil structure optional
- optional, not held fire-fighting systems optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
- optional, not held manage waste optional
- optional, not held perform outdoor cleaning activities optional
- optional, not held support volunteers optional
- optional, not held waste management optional
34 held skills the countryside officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on timber harvest skill
- not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal hunting knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal welfare legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role business management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role conserve forests skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate forestry research skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate timber sales skill
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role estimate damage skill
- not needed by the target role forecast timber production skill
- not needed by the target role forestry regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role geographic information systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role harvest timber skill
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with clients in forestry skill
- not needed by the target role manage forests skill
- not needed by the target role manage production enterprise skill
- not needed by the target role monitor forest health skill
- not needed by the target role monitor forest productivity skill
- not needed by the target role operate GPS systems skill
- not needed by the target role organise harvests skill
- not needed by the target role organise labour skill
- not needed by the target role organise tree plantations skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role promote environmental awareness skill
- not needed by the target role reforestation knowledge
- not needed by the target role report pollution incidents skill
- not needed by the target role supervise forestry workers skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role work independently in forestry services skill
- not needed by the target role write technical reports related to trees skill
10 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 natural areas maintenance required
- still to learn plant species required
- still to learn animal species required
- still to learn characteristics of plants required
- still to learn environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry required
- optional, not held plant harvest methods optional
- optional, not held soil structure optional
- optional, not held fire-fighting systems optional
- optional, not held forest ecology optional
- optional, not held waste management optional
Common questions about this move
Can a forester become a countryside officer?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A forester already covers 19% of what a countryside officer is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 6 of which the countryside officer role treats as required.
What skills does a forester need to become a countryside officer?
25 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is advise on fertiliser and herbicide.
How hard is the move from forester to countryside officer?
Its learning distance is 84.5 out of 100, which is the career change 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.