Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Immigration policy officer to foreign affairs officer

An immigration policy officer already meets 48% of what the foreign affairs officer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From immigration policy officer
48 % overlap
Partial match
To foreign affairs officer
16 You already bring
6 Still to learn
36 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

51.3/ 100

1 How much of what a foreign affairs officer is expected to do is already part of an immigration policy 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 foreign affairs officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A foreign affairs officer role treats 7 of its required skills as things an immigration policy officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on foreign affairs policies
  • analyse foreign affairs policies
  • assess risk factors
  • create solutions to problems
  • foreign affairs
  • government policy implementation

What stands in the way is 6 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A foreign affairs officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an immigration policy officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held analyse foreign affairs policies information skills
  • already held advise on foreign affairs policies communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held foreign affairs business, administration and law
  • already held observe new developments in foreign countries information skills
  • already held international law business, administration and law
  • already held build international relations communication, collaboration and creativity

All 16 carried skills, including the 7 the foreign affairs officer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 20 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 business, administration and law 2 required
  • still to learn international business required
  • still to learn labour legislation required
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 9 supplementary
  • still to learn advise on public relations required
  • optional, not held advise on licencing procedures optional
  • optional, not held develop professional network optional
  • optional, not held develop promotional tools optional
  • optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
  • optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
  • optional, not held perform public relations optional
  • optional, not held present reports optional
  • optional, not held speak different languages optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
03 social sciences, journalism and information 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn foreign affairs policy development required
  • optional, not held public administration optional
  • optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
  • optional, not held government representation optional
04 management skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn manage administrative systems required
  • optional, not held develop international cooperation strategies optional
05 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required
  • still to learn cultural geography required
06 information skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held report analysis results optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a foreign affairs officer 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 16 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advise on foreign affairs policies skill
  • already held analyse foreign affairs policies skill
  • already held assess risk factors skill
  • already held create solutions to problems skill
  • already held foreign affairs knowledge
  • already held government policy implementation knowledge
  • already held international law knowledge
  • already held advise on legislative acts skill
  • already held apply conflict management skill
  • already held build international relations skill
  • already held establish collaborative relations skill
  • already held international commercial transactions rules knowledge
  • already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
  • already held manage government policy implementation skill
  • already held observe new developments in foreign countries skill
  • already held show intercultural awareness skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held develop international cooperation strategies optional
  • optional, not held public administration optional
  • optional, not held advise on licencing procedures optional
  • optional, not held develop professional network optional
  • optional, not held develop promotional tools optional
  • optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
  • optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
  • optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
  • optional, not held government representation optional
  • optional, not held perform public relations optional
  • optional, not held present reports optional
  • optional, not held report analysis results optional
  • optional, not held speak different languages optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
21 held skills the foreign affairs officer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role European political studies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse community needs skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse goal progress skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse irregular migration skill
  • not needed by the target role asylum systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role carry out strategic research skill
  • not needed by the target role develop immigration policies skill
  • not needed by the target role enable access to services skill
  • not needed by the target role foster dialogue in society skill
  • not needed by the target role immigration law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liaise with local authorities skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with politicians skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain relations with local representatives skill
  • not needed by the target role perform project management skill
  • not needed by the target role policy analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role promote human rights implementation skill
  • not needed by the target role promote inclusion skill
  • not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role social justice knowledge
  • not needed by the target role work within communities skill
7 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 cultural geography required
  • still to learn foreign affairs policy development required
  • still to learn international business required
  • still to learn labour legislation required
  • optional, not held public administration optional
  • optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
  • optional, not held government representation optional
Index

Other moves recorded from immigration policy officer

Full index of moves from immigration policy officer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an immigration policy officer become a foreign affairs officer?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An immigration policy officer already covers 48% of what a foreign affairs officer is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 7 of which the foreign affairs officer role treats as required.

What skills does an immigration policy officer need to become a foreign affairs officer?

6 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is cultural geography.

How hard is the move from immigration policy officer to foreign affairs officer?

Its learning distance is 51.3 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.