Funeral attendant to funeral services director
A funeral attendant already meets 35% of what the funeral services director role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.2/ 100
1 How much of what a funeral services director is expected to do is already part of a funeral attendant’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 funeral services director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A funeral services director role treats 8 of its required skills as things a funeral attendant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on funeral services
- greet guests
- maintain customer service
- maintain personal hygiene standards
- prepare ceremonial locations
- promote human rights
What stands in the way is 12 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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A funeral services director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a funeral attendant background worth leading with.
- already held manage funeral equipment handling and moving
- already held provide emotional support to the bereaved assisting and caring
- already held advise on funeral services communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepare ceremonial locations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held drive vehicles in processions working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held transfer coffins handling and moving
All 14 carried skills, including the 8 the funeral services director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 31 missing skills fall into 8 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 administer appointments required
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn develop organisational policies required
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn manage financial aspects of a company required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn recruit employees required
- optional, not held apply business acumen optional
- optional, not held assist with funeral planning optional
- optional, not held coordinate catering optional
- optional, not held maintain professional administration optional
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn train employees required
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held manage emergency evacuation plans optional
- optional, not held perform religious ceremonies optional
- optional, not held respond to visitor complaints optional
- still to learn oversee cremations required
- optional, not held analyse financial performance of a company optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
- optional, not held maintain inventory of tools optional
- still to learn apply health and safety standards required
- optional, not held embalm bodies optional
- optional, not held provide visitor information optional
- still to learn business knowledge required
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held prepare coffins for cremation optional
- optional, not held dress bodies optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a funeral services director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 oversee cremations practise this
- 02 business knowledge study this
- 03 administer appointments 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held advise on funeral services skill
- already held greet guests skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held maintain personal hygiene standards skill
- already held prepare ceremonial locations skill
- already held promote human rights skill
- already held provide directions to guests skill
- already held show diplomacy skill
- already held drive vehicles in processions skill
- already held manage funeral equipment skill
- already held provide emotional support to the bereaved skill
- already held relate empathetically skill
- already held transfer coffins skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held control minor maintenance optional
- optional, not held operate cremation equipment optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held operate cremation equipment optional
- optional, not held prepare coffins for cremation optional
- optional, not held dress bodies optional
- optional, not held embalm bodies optional
- optional, not held analyse financial performance of a company optional
- optional, not held apply business acumen optional
- optional, not held assist with funeral planning optional
- optional, not held business management principles optional
- optional, not held control minor maintenance optional
- optional, not held coordinate catering optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held maintain inventory of tools optional
- optional, not held maintain professional administration optional
- optional, not held manage emergency evacuation plans optional
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
- optional, not held perform religious ceremonies optional
- optional, not held provide visitor information optional
- optional, not held respond to visitor complaints optional
2 held skills the funeral services director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role clean rooms skill
- not needed by the target role lift heavy weights skill
2 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 business knowledge required
- optional, not held business management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a funeral attendant become a funeral services director?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A funeral attendant already covers 35% of what a funeral services director is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 8 of which the funeral services director role treats as required.
What skills does a funeral attendant need to become a funeral services director?
12 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is oversee cremations.
How hard is the move from funeral attendant to funeral services director?
Its learning distance is 67.2 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.