Head of workshop to high rigger
A head of workshop already meets 44% of what the high rigger role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.7/ 100
1 How much of what a high rigger is expected to do is already part of a head of workshop’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 high rigger role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A high rigger role treats 11 of its required skills as things a head of workshop already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow safety procedures when working at heights
- promote health and safety
- provide first aid
- react to emergency situations in a live performance environment
- use personal protection equipment
- use technical documentation
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 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A high rigger role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a head of workshop background worth leading with.
- already held react to emergency situations in a live performance environment assisting and caring
- already held document safety actions information skills
- already held write risk assessment on performing arts production information skills
- already held promote health and safety communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held ensure safety of mobile electrical systems assisting and caring
- already held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 13 carried skills, including the 11 the high rigger role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 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 assemble truss constructions required
- still to learn hang chain hoists required
- still to learn maintain rigging equipment required
- optional, not held assemble circus rigging equipment optional
- optional, not held maintain chain hoists optional
- optional, not held maintain circus rigging equipment optional
- optional, not held perform regular checks on rigging equipment optional
- optional, not held plot rigging movements optional
- still to learn assemble performance equipment required
- still to learn use communication equipment required
- still to learn provide power distribution required
- optional, not held operate forklift optional
- optional, not held operate telehandler optional
- still to learn store performance equipment required
- still to learn use rope access techniques required
- still to learn organise resources for artistic production required
- optional, not held define rigging needs for circus acts optional
- optional, not held manage technical resources stock optional
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
- still to learn evacuate people from heights required
- optional, not held design rigging plots optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a high rigger role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assemble performance equipment practise this
- 02 assemble truss constructions practise this
- 03 hang chain hoists 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 13 skills that carry over
- already held follow safety procedures when working at heights skill
- already held promote health and safety skill
- already held provide first aid skill
- already held react to emergency situations in a live performance environment skill
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
- already held use technical documentation skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
- already held work safely with machines skill
- already held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision skill
- already held work with respect for own safety skill
- already held write risk assessment on performing arts production skill
- already held document safety actions skill
- already held ensure safety of mobile electrical systems skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held calculate rigging plots optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assemble circus rigging equipment optional
- optional, not held calculate rigging plots optional
- optional, not held define rigging needs for circus acts optional
- optional, not held design rigging plots optional
- optional, not held maintain chain hoists optional
- optional, not held maintain circus rigging equipment optional
- optional, not held manage technical resources stock optional
- optional, not held perform regular checks on rigging equipment optional
- optional, not held plot rigging movements optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held keep personal administration optional
- optional, not held manage personal professional development optional
- optional, not held operate forklift optional
- optional, not held operate telehandler optional
26 held skills the high rigger role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- not needed by the target role analyse the need for technical resources skill
- not needed by the target role archive documentation related to work skill
- not needed by the target role calculate design costs skill
- not needed by the target role commission set construction skill
- not needed by the target role consult with design team skill
- not needed by the target role develop project schedule skill
- not needed by the target role lead a team skill
- not needed by the target role make set construction drawings skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage consumables stock skill
- not needed by the target role manage schedule of tasks skill
- not needed by the target role manage supplies skill
- not needed by the target role manage teamwork skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate health and safety issues with third parties skill
- not needed by the target role oversee quality control skill
- not needed by the target role perform first fire intervention skill
- not needed by the target role perform quality control of design during a run skill
- not needed by the target role plan workshop activity skill
- not needed by the target role prevent fire in a performance environment skill
- not needed by the target role provide technical documentation skill
- not needed by the target role support a designer in the developing process skill
- not needed by the target role translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
- not needed by the target role update budget skill
- not needed by the target role use specialised design software skill
- not needed by the target role work safely with chemicals skill
Common questions about this move
Can a head of workshop become a high rigger?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A head of workshop already covers 44% of what a high rigger is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 11 of which the high rigger role treats as required.
What skills does a head of workshop need to become a high rigger?
10 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by constructing. The single most important is assemble performance equipment.
How hard is the move from head of workshop to high rigger?
Its learning distance is 60.7 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.