High rigger to pyrotechnician
A high rigger already meets 36% of what the pyrotechnician role asks for. The move turns on 22 required skills not yet in the profile.
74.3/ 100
1 How much of what a pyrotechnician is expected to do is already part of a high rigger’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 pyrotechnician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A pyrotechnician role treats 15 of its required skills as things a high rigger already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow safety procedures when working at heights
- manage technical resources stock
- organise resources for artistic production
- promote health and safety
- provide first aid
- react to emergency situations in a live performance environment
What stands in the way is 22 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pyrotechnician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a high rigger 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 organise resources for artistic production management skills
- already held store performance equipment handling and moving
All 19 carried skills, including the 15 the pyrotechnician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 42 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.
- still to learn communicate during show required
- still to learn consult with stakeholders on implementation of a production required
- still to learn intervene with actions on stage required
- still to learn plan pyrotechnical effects required
- still to learn safeguard artistic quality of performance required
- still to learn understand artistic concepts required
- still to learn attend rehearsals required
- optional, not held instruct on set up of equipment optional
- optional, not held adapt artistic plan to location optional
- optional, not held adapt existing designs to changed circumstances optional
- optional, not held adapt to artists' creative demands optional
- optional, not held coordinate purchasing activities optional
- optional, not held interpret artistic intentions optional
- optional, not held maintain system layout for a production optional
- optional, not held support a designer in the developing process optional
- optional, not held update design results during rehearsals optional
- optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
- optional, not held translate artistic concepts to technical designs optional
- still to learn draw up artistic production required
- still to learn obtain pyrotechnic permits required
- still to learn perform quality control of design during a run required
- still to learn test pyrotechnical effects required
- optional, not held document your own practice optional
- optional, not held monitor developments in technology used for design optional
- optional, not held keep up with trends optional
- still to learn prevent fire in a performance environment required
- still to learn work safely with chemicals required
- still to learn work safely with pyrotechnical materials in a performance environment required
- still to learn perform first fire intervention required
- still to learn build pyrotechnical devices required
- still to learn set up equipment in a timely manner required
- still to learn store pyrotechnical materials required
- optional, not held pack electronic equipment optional
- still to learn manage consumables stock required
- still to learn prepare personal work environment required
- optional, not held manage signoff of an installed system optional
- optional, not held manage teamwork optional
- optional, not held update budget optional
- optional, not held lead a team optional
- still to learn operate pyrotechnical control required
- still to learn set up pyrotechnical equipment required
- optional, not held de-rig electronic equipment optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a pyrotechnician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 build pyrotechnical devices practise this
- 02 communicate during show practise this
- 03 consult with stakeholders on implementation of a production 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held follow safety procedures when working at heights skill
- already held manage technical resources stock skill
- already held organise resources for artistic production 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 store performance equipment skill
- already held use communication equipment 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 develop professional network skill
- already held document safety actions skill
- already held ensure safety of mobile electrical systems skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held instruct on set up of equipment optional
- optional, not held adapt artistic plan to location optional
- optional, not held adapt existing designs to changed circumstances optional
- optional, not held adapt to artists' creative demands optional
- optional, not held coordinate purchasing activities optional
- optional, not held document your own practice optional
- optional, not held interpret artistic intentions optional
- optional, not held maintain system layout for a production optional
- optional, not held manage signoff of an installed system optional
- optional, not held manage teamwork optional
- optional, not held monitor developments in technology used for design optional
- optional, not held pack electronic equipment optional
- optional, not held support a designer in the developing process optional
- optional, not held update budget optional
- optional, not held update design results during rehearsals optional
- optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
- optional, not held de-rig electronic equipment optional
- optional, not held keep up with trends optional
- optional, not held lead a team optional
- optional, not held translate artistic concepts to technical designs optional
18 held skills the pyrotechnician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assemble circus rigging equipment skill
- not needed by the target role assemble performance equipment skill
- not needed by the target role assemble truss constructions skill
- not needed by the target role calculate rigging plots skill
- not needed by the target role define rigging needs for circus acts skill
- not needed by the target role design rigging plots skill
- not needed by the target role evacuate people from heights skill
- not needed by the target role hang chain hoists skill
- not needed by the target role keep personal administration skill
- not needed by the target role maintain chain hoists skill
- not needed by the target role maintain circus rigging equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain rigging equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate forklift skill
- not needed by the target role operate telehandler skill
- not needed by the target role perform regular checks on rigging equipment skill
- not needed by the target role plot rigging movements skill
- not needed by the target role provide power distribution skill
- not needed by the target role use rope access techniques skill
Common questions about this move
Can a high rigger become a pyrotechnician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A high rigger already covers 36% of what a pyrotechnician is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 15 of which the pyrotechnician role treats as required.
What skills does a high rigger need to become a pyrotechnician?
22 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is build pyrotechnical devices.
How hard is the move from high rigger to pyrotechnician?
Its learning distance is 74.3 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.