Head of higher education institutions to university department head
A head of higher education institutions already meets 54% of what the university department head role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.4/ 100
1 How much of what a university department head is expected to do is already part of a head of higher education institutions’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 university department head role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A university department head role treats 12 of its required skills as things a head of higher education institutions already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess employees' capability levels
- assess students
- assessment processes
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
What stands in the way is 10 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 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A university department head role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a head of higher education institutions background worth leading with.
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held education administration business, administration and law
- already held assess employees' capability levels management skills
- already held curriculum standards education
- already held evaluate education programmes information skills
- already held identify education needs management skills
All 22 carried skills, including the 12 the university department head role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 7 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 manage university department required
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn provide education management support required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- still to learn advise on lesson plans required
- still to learn advise on teaching methods required
- still to learn provide feedback to teachers required
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- still to learn lead inspections required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- still to learn provide information on study programmes required
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- still to learn project management required
- optional, not held human resource management optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a university department head role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage university department practise this
- 02 identify process improvements practise this
- 03 project management 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 22 skills that carry over
- already held assess employees' capability levels skill
- already held assess students skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held present reports skill
- already held university procedures knowledge
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held develop organisational policies skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held education administration knowledge
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held represent the organisation skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held human resource management optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
21 held skills the university department head role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse curriculum skill
- not needed by the target role analyse staff capacity skill
- not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
- not needed by the target role contract law knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate educational programmes skill
- not needed by the target role education law knowledge
- not needed by the target role green space strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead board meetings skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with board members skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational support staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage government-funded programmes skill
- not needed by the target role manage school budget skill
- not needed by the target role manage space utilisation skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage student admissions skill
- not needed by the target role post-secondary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote education course skill
- not needed by the target role trade union regulations knowledge
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 project management required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held human resource management optional
Other moves recorded from head of higher education institutions
- secondary school head teacher 68% covered · moderate
- primary school head teacher 67% covered · moderate
- deputy head teacher 55% covered · moderate
- nursery school head teacher 54% covered · moderate
Full index of moves from head of higher education institutions
Common questions about this move
Can a head of higher education institutions become a university department head?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A head of higher education institutions already covers 54% of what a university department head is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 12 of which the university department head role treats as required.
What skills does a head of higher education institutions need to become a university department head?
10 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage university department.
How hard is the move from head of higher education institutions to university department head?
Its learning distance is 51.4 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.