Funeral services director to embalmer
A funeral services director already meets 63% of what the embalmer role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
37.4/ 100
1 How much of what an embalmer is expected to do is already part of a funeral services director’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 embalmer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An embalmer role treats 7 of its required skills as things a funeral services director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply health and safety standards
- dress bodies
- embalm bodies
- maintain inventory of tools
- maintain professional administration
- promote human rights
What stands in the way is 4 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 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An embalmer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a funeral services director background worth leading with.
- already held dress bodies handling and moving
- already held embalm bodies assisting and caring
- already held assist with funeral planning management skills
- already held advise on funeral services communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepare ceremonial locations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held transfer coffins handling and moving
All 17 carried skills, including the 7 the embalmer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 5 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 move bodies of deceased persons required
- still to learn work with chemicals required
- optional, not held clean rooms optional
- optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional
- optional, not held lift heavy weights optional
- still to learn cooperate with funeral directors required
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- still to learn cosmetics required
- optional, not held dermasurgery techniques optional
- optional, not held biology optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an embalmer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 move bodies of deceased persons practise this
- 02 cooperate with funeral directors practise this
- 03 cosmetics study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held apply health and safety standards skill
- already held dress bodies skill
- already held embalm bodies skill
- already held maintain inventory of tools skill
- already held maintain professional administration skill
- already held promote human rights skill
- already held show diplomacy skill
- already held administer appointments skill
- already held advise on funeral services skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held assist with funeral planning skill
- already held liaise with local authorities skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held prepare ceremonial locations skill
- already held provide directions to guests skill
- already held transfer coffins skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held dermasurgery techniques optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- optional, not held biology optional
- optional, not held clean rooms optional
- optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional
- optional, not held lift heavy weights optional
28 held skills the embalmer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse financial performance of a company skill
- not needed by the target role apply business acumen skill
- not needed by the target role business knowledge knowledge
- not needed by the target role business management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role control minor maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate catering skill
- not needed by the target role develop organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles in processions skill
- not needed by the target role greet guests skill
- not needed by the target role keep personal administration skill
- not needed by the target role maintain customer service skill
- not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage emergency evacuation plans skill
- not needed by the target role manage financial aspects of a company skill
- not needed by the target role manage funeral equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage maintenance operations skill
- not needed by the target role operate cremation equipment skill
- not needed by the target role oversee cremations skill
- not needed by the target role perform religious ceremonies skill
- not needed by the target role prepare coffins for cremation skill
- not needed by the target role provide emotional support to the bereaved skill
- not needed by the target role provide visitor information skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role relate empathetically skill
- not needed by the target role respond to visitor complaints skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
3 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 cosmetics required
- optional, not held dermasurgery techniques optional
- optional, not held biology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a funeral services director become an embalmer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A funeral services director already covers 63% of what an embalmer is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 7 of which the embalmer role treats as required.
What skills does a funeral services director need to become an embalmer?
4 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is move bodies of deceased persons.
How hard is the move from funeral services director to embalmer?
Its learning distance is 37.4 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.