Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Government planning inspector to secretary general

A government planning inspector already meets 31% of what the secretary general role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From government planning inspector
31 % overlap
Distant match
To secretary general
7 You already bring
8 Still to learn
28 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

63.7/ 100

1 How much of what a secretary general is expected to do is already part of a government planning inspector’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 secretary general role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A secretary general role treats 5 of its required skills as things a government planning inspector already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • apply conflict management
  • audit techniques
  • budgetary principles
  • perform project management
  • project management principles

What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secretary general role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a government planning inspector background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held audit techniques business, administration and law
  • already held project management principles business, administration and law
  • already held manage government policy implementation management skills
  • already held budgetary principles business, administration and law
  • already held government policy implementation social sciences, journalism and information
  • already held apply conflict management communication, collaboration and creativity

All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the secretary general role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 21 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 8 supplementary
  • still to learn coordinate government activities in foreign institutions required
  • still to learn represent national interests required
  • still to learn maintain relationships with government agencies required
  • still to learn represent the organisation required
  • optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
  • optional, not held apply diplomatic principles optional
  • optional, not held build community relations optional
  • optional, not held build international relations optional
  • optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
  • optional, not held implement strategic management optional
  • optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
  • optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
02 management skills 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn manage staff required
  • optional, not held develop international cooperation strategies optional
  • optional, not held manage administrative systems optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
03 business, administration and law 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
  • optional, not held legislation procedure optional
  • optional, not held public finance optional
04 information skills 1 required
  • still to learn conduct financial audits required
05 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required
  • still to learn good governance required
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a secretary general role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 7 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply conflict management skill
  • already held audit techniques knowledge
  • already held budgetary principles knowledge
  • already held perform project management skill
  • already held project management principles knowledge
  • already held government policy implementation knowledge
  • already held manage government policy implementation skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held develop international cooperation strategies optional
  • optional, not held manage administrative systems optional
  • optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
  • optional, not held apply diplomatic principles optional
  • optional, not held build community relations optional
  • optional, not held build international relations optional
  • optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
  • optional, not held implement strategic management optional
  • optional, not held legislation procedure optional
  • optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
  • optional, not held public finance optional
25 held skills the secretary general role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise legislators skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on conflict management skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on government policy compliance skill
  • not needed by the target role agricultural sector policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse goal progress skill
  • not needed by the target role communications sector policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role conduct workplace audits skill
  • not needed by the target role energy sector policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure information transparency skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure law application skill
  • not needed by the target role follow up complaint reports skill
  • not needed by the target role identify policy breach skill
  • not needed by the target role inspect government policy compliance skill
  • not needed by the target role keep task records skill
  • not needed by the target role mining sector policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor policy proposals skill
  • not needed by the target role present reports skill
  • not needed by the target role public administration knowledge
  • not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role show impartiality skill
  • not needed by the target role tourism sector policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role trade sector policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role transportation sector policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
  • not needed by the target role write inspection reports skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn good governance required
  • still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
  • optional, not held legislation procedure optional
  • optional, not held public finance optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a government planning inspector become a secretary general?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A government planning inspector already covers 31% of what a secretary general is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the secretary general role treats as required.

What skills does a government planning inspector need to become a secretary general?

8 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is coordinate government activities in foreign institutions.

How hard is the move from government planning inspector to secretary general?

Its learning distance is 63.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.