Innovation engineer to innovation officer
An innovation engineer already meets 59% of what the innovation officer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
40.1/ 100
1 How much of what an innovation officer is expected to do is already part of an innovation engineer’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 innovation officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An innovation officer role treats 11 of its required skills as things an innovation engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- consult with industry professionals
- develop business plans
- emergent technologies
- identify new business opportunities
- identify potential markets for companies
- implement procurement of innovation
What stands in the way is 7 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. An innovation officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an innovation engineer background worth leading with.
- already held advise on patents communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held consult with industry professionals communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held innovate in ICT communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held keep updated on innovations in various business fields information skills
- already held identify potential markets for companies management skills
- already held implement procurement of innovation communication, collaboration and creativity
All 13 carried skills, including the 11 the innovation officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 5 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 business processes required
- still to learn risk management required
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held product life-cycle optional
- still to learn collaborate with engineers required
- still to learn use consulting techniques required
- still to learn carry out strategic research required
- still to learn seek innovation in current practices required
- still to learn improve business processes required
- optional, not held engineering processes optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an innovation officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 business processes study this
- 02 carry out strategic research practise this
- 03 collaborate with engineers 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 consult with industry professionals skill
- already held develop business plans skill
- already held emergent technologies knowledge
- already held identify new business opportunities skill
- already held identify potential markets for companies skill
- already held implement procurement of innovation skill
- already held innovate in ICT skill
- already held innovation processes knowledge
- already held keep updated on innovations in various business fields skill
- already held promote innovative infrastructure design skill
- already held promote open innovation in research skill
- already held advise on patents skill
- already held define technology strategy skill
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held engineering processes optional
- optional, not held product life-cycle optional
21 held skills the innovation officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply for patents skill
- not needed by the target role automation technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role describe chemical innovation in products skill
- not needed by the target role develop design ideas cooperatively skill
- not needed by the target role develop new products skill
- not needed by the target role develop product design skill
- not needed by the target role identify technological needs skill
- not needed by the target role industrial design knowledge
- not needed by the target role integrate new products in manufacturing skill
- not needed by the target role lead technology development of an organisation skill
- not needed by the target role manage research and development projects skill
- not needed by the target role monitor technology trends skill
- not needed by the target role patents knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform product planning skill
- not needed by the target role plan engineering activities skill
- not needed by the target role plan product management skill
- not needed by the target role prepare production prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role promote the transfer of knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role provide technical expertise skill
- not needed by the target role social innovation knowledge
5 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 business processes required
- still to learn risk management required
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held engineering processes optional
- optional, not held product life-cycle optional
Other moves recorded from innovation engineer
Common questions about this move
Can an innovation engineer become an innovation officer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An innovation engineer already covers 59% of what an innovation officer is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 11 of which the innovation officer role treats as required.
What skills does an innovation engineer need to become an innovation officer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is business processes.
How hard is the move from innovation engineer to innovation officer?
Its learning distance is 40.1 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.