Game keeper to hunter
A game keeper already meets 20% of what the hunter role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.9/ 100
1 How much of what a hunter is expected to do is already part of a game keeper’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 hunter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A hunter role treats 3 of its required skills as things a game keeper already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- manage game management plans
- understand game species
- wild game meat food safety requirements
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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A hunter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a game keeper background worth leading with.
- already held manage game management plans management skills
- already held understand game species natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held wild game meat food safety requirements services
- already held coordinate the sale of game communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held hire beaters management skills
- already held train gun dogs handling and moving
All 6 carried skills, including the 3 the hunter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 9 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 hunt animals required
- still to learn trap animals required
- still to learn dispose of dead animals required
- optional, not held process animal by-products optional
- optional, not held control animal movement optional
- optional, not held provide first aid to animals optional
- optional, not held slaughter animals optional
- still to learn comply with wildlife hazard management programmes required
- still to learn use firearms required
- still to learn ensure compliance with environmental legislation required
- optional, not held deal with killing animals processes optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- still to learn acquire licences for the use of weapons required
- still to learn monitor wildlife required
- optional, not held read maps optional
- still to learn wildlife required
- optional, not held wildlife projects optional
- optional, not held ecosystems optional
- still to learn camouflage required
- optional, not held topography optional
- still to learn animal hunting required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a hunter role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 hunt animals practise this
- 02 trap animals practise this
- 03 European firearms-control legislation 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held manage game management plans skill
- already held understand game species knowledge
- already held wild game meat food safety requirements knowledge
- already held coordinate the sale of game skill
- already held hire beaters skill
- already held train gun dogs skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn European firearms-control legislation required
- optional, not held types of arrows optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held process animal by-products optional
- optional, not held control animal movement optional
- optional, not held deal with killing animals processes optional
- optional, not held provide first aid to animals optional
- optional, not held slaughter animals optional
- optional, not held topography optional
- optional, not held types of arrows optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held wildlife projects optional
- optional, not held ecosystems optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
12 held skills the hunter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role animal welfare legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply animal hygiene practices skill
- not needed by the target role clear woodland skill
- not needed by the target role control the production of game meat for human consumption skill
- not needed by the target role maintain game equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage chemical testing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role manage habitats to benefit game skill
- not needed by the target role manage rivers and streams skill
- not needed by the target role organise game shoots skill
- not needed by the target role protect game skill
- not needed by the target role rear game skill
- not needed by the target role remove predators skill
8 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 European firearms-control legislation required
- still to learn animal hunting required
- still to learn camouflage required
- still to learn wildlife required
- optional, not held topography optional
- optional, not held types of arrows optional
- optional, not held wildlife projects optional
- optional, not held ecosystems optional
Common questions about this move
Can a game keeper become a hunter?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A game keeper already covers 20% of what a hunter is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 3 of which the hunter role treats as required.
What skills does a game keeper need to become a hunter?
12 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is hunt animals.
How hard is the move from game keeper to hunter?
Its learning distance is 77.9 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.