Furniture restorer to art restorer
A furniture restorer already meets 38% of what the art restorer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.6/ 100
1 How much of what an art restorer is expected to do is already part of a furniture restorer’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 art restorer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An art restorer role treats 5 of its required skills as things a furniture restorer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply restoration techniques
- assess conservation needs
- evaluate restoration procedures
- provide conservation advice
- select restoration activities
What stands in the way is 6 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An art restorer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a furniture restorer background worth leading with.
- already held provide conservation advice communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assess conservation needs information skills
- already held select restoration activities information skills
- already held evaluate restoration procedures information skills
- already held apply restoration techniques constructing
- already held art history arts and humanities
All 6 carried skills, including the 5 the art restorer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 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 create solutions to problems required
- optional, not held respect cultural differences in the field of exhibition optional
- optional, not held work in restoration team optional
- optional, not held interact with an audience optional
- optional, not held present reports optional
- still to learn coordinate operational activities required
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- still to learn ensure safety of exhibition required
- still to learn museum databases required
- still to learn use ICT resources to solve work related tasks required
- still to learn restore art using scientific methods required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an art restorer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ensure safety of exhibition practise this
- 02 museum databases study this
- 03 restore art using scientific methods 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held apply restoration techniques skill
- already held assess conservation needs skill
- already held evaluate restoration procedures skill
- already held provide conservation advice skill
- already held select restoration activities skill
- already held art history knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held evaluate art quality optional
- optional, not held specialise in conservation-restoration of specific types of objects optional
- optional, not held art collections optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held art collections optional
- optional, not held evaluate art quality optional
- optional, not held respect cultural differences in the field of exhibition optional
- optional, not held specialise in conservation-restoration of specific types of objects optional
- optional, not held work in restoration team optional
- optional, not held interact with an audience optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held present reports optional
33 held skills the art restorer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role age furniture artificially skill
- not needed by the target role apply a protective layer skill
- not needed by the target role carve materials skill
- not needed by the target role clean furniture skill
- not needed by the target role conservation techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role contextualise artistic work skill
- not needed by the target role create smooth wood surface skill
- not needed by the target role create wood joints skill
- not needed by the target role decorate furniture skill
- not needed by the target role do historical research skill
- not needed by the target role document museum collection skill
- not needed by the target role document restoration skill
- not needed by the target role engrave patterns skill
- not needed by the target role engraving technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role estimate restoration costs skill
- not needed by the target role fix minor scratches skill
- not needed by the target role furniture industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle delivery of furniture goods skill
- not needed by the target role join wood elements skill
- not needed by the target role operate wood sawing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role paint decorative designs skill
- not needed by the target role prepare furniture for application of paint skill
- not needed by the target role produce copies of valuable objects skill
- not needed by the target role produce customised tools skill
- not needed by the target role repair furniture parts skill
- not needed by the target role sand wood skill
- not needed by the target role sell furniture skill
- not needed by the target role sell household goods skill
- not needed by the target role specialise in an area of history skill
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of wood knowledge
- not needed by the target role use authentic crafting techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use environmental friendly materials 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 museum databases required
- optional, not held art collections optional
Common questions about this move
Can a furniture restorer become an art restorer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A furniture restorer already covers 38% of what an art restorer is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 5 of which the art restorer role treats as required.
What skills does a furniture restorer need to become an art restorer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is ensure safety of exhibition.
How hard is the move from furniture restorer to art restorer?
Its learning distance is 56.6 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.