Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

industrial engineertomechanical engineering drafter

A industrial engineer already meets 54% of what the mechanical engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

From industrial engineer
54%
Overlap1
To mechanical engineering drafter
13 Skills carried over
5 Required, not held
44.1 Difficulty2
Career overlap Partial match

54%

Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

44.1/ 100

1 Share of the mechanical engineering drafter role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the industrial engineer profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A mechanical engineering drafter role treats 9 of its required skills as things a industrial engineer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • CAD software
  • design drawings
  • liaise with engineers
  • mathematics
  • mechanical engineering
  • mechanics

What stands in the way is 5 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 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A mechanical engineering drafter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a industrial engineer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held principles of mechanical engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held material mechanics engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held 3D modelling natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
  • already held design drawings engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held mechanical engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held physics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics

All 13 carried skills, including the 9 the mechanical engineering drafter role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 16 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 4 supplementary
  • required, not held create solutions to problems required
  • required, not held use manual draughting techniques required
  • optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
  • optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
  • optional, not held draft design specifications optional
  • optional, not held review drafts optional
02 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held use technical drawing software required
  • optional, not held use CADD software optional
03 arts and humanities 1 required
  • required, not held manual draughting techniques required
04 management skills 1 required
  • required, not held create technical plans required
05 information skills 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held define part requirements optional
  • optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
  • optional, not held read standard blueprints optional
06 constructing 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held maintain mechanical equipment optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a mechanical engineering drafter 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 13 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held CAD software knowledge
  • already held design drawings knowledge
  • already held liaise with engineers skill
  • already held mathematics knowledge
  • already held mechanical engineering knowledge
  • already held mechanics knowledge
  • already held principles of mechanical engineering knowledge
  • already held technical drawings knowledge
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held 3D modelling knowledge
  • already held adjust engineering designs skill
  • already held material mechanics knowledge
  • already held physics knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held blueprints optional
08 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held CADD software optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held define part requirements optional
  • optional, not held maintain mechanical equipment optional
  • optional, not held CADD software optional
  • optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
  • optional, not held blueprints optional
  • optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
  • optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
  • optional, not held draft design specifications optional
  • optional, not held read standard blueprints optional
  • optional, not held review drafts optional
  • optional, not held use CADD software optional
64 held skills the mechanical engineering drafter role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on manufacturing problems skill
  • not needed by the target role aerospace engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse production processes for improvement skill
  • not needed by the target role apply advanced manufacturing skill
  • not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
  • not needed by the target role automation technology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
  • not needed by the target role build machines skill
  • not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
  • not needed by the target role computer engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role continuous improvement philosophies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role control production skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate engineering teams skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate manufacturing production activities skill
  • not needed by the target role design automation components skill
  • not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
  • not needed by the target role determine production capacity skill
  • not needed by the target role develop product design skill
  • not needed by the target role develop production line skill
  • not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role examine engineering principles skill
  • not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
  • not needed by the target role industrial engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role industrial tools knowledge
  • not needed by the target role instrumentation engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role instrumentation equipment knowledge
  • not needed by the target role integrate new products in manufacturing skill
  • not needed by the target role keep up with digital transformation of industrial processes skill
  • not needed by the target role lead process optimisation skill
  • not needed by the target role lean manufacturing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role maintain industrial equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill

24 further entries not listed here

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 acquire Tier
  • required, not held manual draughting techniques required
  • optional, not held CADD software optional
  • optional, not held blueprints optional
Index
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.