Forester to forestry adviser
A forester already meets 42% of what the forestry adviser role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.4/ 100
1 How much of what a forestry adviser 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 forestry adviser role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A forestry adviser role treats 10 of its required skills as things a forester already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on timber harvest
- agronomy
- apply forest legislation
- conserve forests
- environmental legislation
- estimate damage
What stands in the way is 13 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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A forestry adviser 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 interact with clients in forestry communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held apply forest legislation assisting and caring
- already held write technical reports related to trees communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on timber harvest communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held conserve forests assisting and caring
- already held monitor forest health information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 10 the forestry adviser role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 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 assess harvesting impact on wildlife required
- still to learn perform forest analysis required
- still to learn inspect trees required
- still to learn monitor water quality required
- optional, not held read maps optional
- still to learn habitat restoration required
- still to learn wildlife required
- still to learn ecosystems required
- still to learn forest ecology required
- optional, not held climate change impact optional
- still to learn perform forest diseases control required
- still to learn advise on fertiliser and herbicide required
- still to learn use different communication channels required
- optional, not held develop personal skills optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn coordinate new sites preparation required
- still to learn make decisions regarding forestry management required
- optional, not held develop forestry strategies optional
- optional, not held lead a team in forestry services optional
- optional, not held assist tree identification optional
- optional, not held nurse trees optional
- optional, not held agroforestry optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a forestry adviser role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 coordinate new sites preparation practise this
- 02 perform forest diseases control practise this
- 03 advise on fertiliser and herbicide 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held advise on timber harvest skill
- already held agronomy knowledge
- already held apply forest legislation skill
- already held conserve forests skill
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- already held estimate damage skill
- already held forestry regulations knowledge
- already held monitor forest health skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held reforestation knowledge
- already held geographic information systems knowledge
- already held interact with clients in forestry skill
- already held report pollution incidents skill
- already held sustainable forest management knowledge
- already held write technical reports related to trees skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held agroforestry optional
- optional, not held assist tree identification optional
- optional, not held develop forestry strategies optional
- optional, not held develop personal skills optional
- optional, not held lead a team in forestry services optional
- optional, not held nurse trees optional
- optional, not held climate change impact optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
28 held skills the forestry adviser role does not ask for
- 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 coordinate forestry research skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate timber sales skill
- not needed by the target role de-limb trees skill
- not needed by the target role develop natural areas works programmes skill
- not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role forecast timber production skill
- 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 manage budgets 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 manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage time in forestry 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 pest control in plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role plant disease control knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote environmental awareness 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
6 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 habitat restoration required
- still to learn wildlife required
- still to learn ecosystems required
- still to learn forest ecology required
- optional, not held agroforestry optional
- optional, not held climate change impact optional
Common questions about this move
Can a forester become a forestry adviser?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A forester already covers 42% of what a forestry adviser is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 10 of which the forestry adviser role treats as required.
What skills does a forester need to become a forestry adviser?
13 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is coordinate new sites preparation.
How hard is the move from forester to forestry adviser?
Its learning distance is 63.4 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.