Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Ground lighting officer to airport planning engineer

A ground lighting officer already meets 16% of what the airport planning engineer role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From ground lighting officer
16 % overlap
Distant match
To airport planning engineer
4 You already bring
16 Still to learn
26 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

80.6/ 100

1 How much of what an airport planning engineer is expected to do is already part of a ground lighting officer’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 airport planning engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An airport planning engineer role treats 3 of its required skills as things a ground lighting officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • apply airport standards and regulations
  • design customised maps
  • work in an aviation team

What stands in the way is 16 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 4 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An airport planning engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a ground lighting officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held design customised maps communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held identify airport safety hazards information skills
  • already held apply airport standards and regulations assisting and caring
  • already held work in an aviation team communication, collaboration and creativity

All 4 carried skills, including the 3 the airport planning engineer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 22 missing skills fall into 6 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 6 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn direct airport subcontractors required
  • still to learn interact with airport stakeholders required
  • still to learn compare contractors' bids required
  • still to learn implement strategic management required
  • still to learn use different communication channels required
  • still to learn write work-related reports required
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held promote environmental awareness optional
02 information skills 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn monitor aviation growth trends required
  • still to learn compile airport certification manuals required
  • still to learn execute feasibility study required
  • optional, not held conduct airport environmental studies optional
03 management skills 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn create an airport master plan required
  • still to learn manage airport development resources required
  • still to learn manage budgets required
  • optional, not held create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement optional
04 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn geological factors in airport construction required
  • still to learn land use for airport planning required
  • optional, not held airport environmental regulations optional
05 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn have computer literacy required
  • optional, not held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools optional
06 assisting and caring 1 required
  • still to learn comply with legal regulations required
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an airport planning engineer 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 4 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply airport standards and regulations skill
  • already held design customised maps skill
  • already held work in an aviation team skill
  • already held identify airport safety hazards skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held airport environmental regulations optional
  • optional, not held conduct airport environmental studies optional
  • optional, not held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools optional
  • optional, not held create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement optional
  • optional, not held manage contracts optional
  • optional, not held promote environmental awareness optional
20 held skills the airport planning engineer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role airport lighting equipment knowledge
  • not needed by the target role artificial lighting systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cartography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role conduct quantitative research skill
  • not needed by the target role develop strategy to solve problems skill
  • not needed by the target role differentiate between airfield lighting skill
  • not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electrical wiring plans knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure functionality of airport lighting systems skill
  • not needed by the target role follow airport safety procedures skill
  • not needed by the target role give instructions to staff skill
  • not needed by the target role lead inspections skill
  • not needed by the target role make independent operating decisions skill
  • not needed by the target role manage risk of lighting failure skill
  • not needed by the target role manage staff skill
  • not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
  • not needed by the target role produce airport lighting system reports skill
  • not needed by the target role supervise routine maintenance of airport lighting systems skill
  • not needed by the target role train staff in quality procedures skill
  • not needed by the target role train staff in safety procedures 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn geological factors in airport construction required
  • still to learn land use for airport planning required
  • optional, not held airport environmental regulations optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a ground lighting officer become an airport planning engineer?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A ground lighting officer already covers 16% of what an airport planning engineer is expected to do: 4 skills carry over, 3 of which the airport planning engineer role treats as required.

What skills does a ground lighting officer need to become an airport planning engineer?

16 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is geological factors in airport construction.

How hard is the move from ground lighting officer to airport planning engineer?

Its learning distance is 80.6 out of 100, which is the career change 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.