Irrigation technician to water plant technician
An irrigation technician already meets 25% of what the water plant technician role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
71.8/ 100
1 How much of what a water plant technician is expected to do is already part of an irrigation technician’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 water plant technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A water plant technician role treats 4 of its required skills as things an irrigation technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure compliance with environmental legislation
- monitor water quality
- water policies
- water pressure
What stands in the way is 8 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A water plant technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an irrigation technician background worth leading with.
- already held follow water supply schedule management skills
- already held perform water testing procedures information skills
- already held water pressure natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held water reuse engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held water policies services
- already held monitor water quality information skills
All 7 carried skills, including the 4 the water plant technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 8 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 maintain specified water characteristics required
- still to learn operate hydraulic machinery controls required
- still to learn operate pumping systems required
- optional, not held maintain desalination control system optional
- optional, not held manage desalination control system optional
- optional, not held perform water treatment procedures optional
- optional, not held use water disinfection equipment optional
- optional, not held carry out waste water treatment optional
- optional, not held operate water purifying equipment optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- still to learn maintain water distribution equipment required
- still to learn maintain water storage equipment required
- still to learn maintain water treatment equipment required
- optional, not held install hydraulic systems optional
- optional, not held install plumbing systems optional
- still to learn measure water quality parameters required
- optional, not held ensure proper water storage optional
- optional, not held perform water treatments optional
- optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
- optional, not held document analysis results optional
- optional, not held maintain records of maintenance interventions optional
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held percolation optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a water plant technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 maintain specified water characteristics practise this
- 02 maintain water distribution equipment practise this
- 03 maintain water storage equipment 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- already held monitor water quality skill
- already held water policies knowledge
- already held water pressure knowledge
- already held follow water supply schedule skill
- already held perform water testing procedures skill
- already held water reuse knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ensure proper water storage optional
- optional, not held maintain desalination control system optional
- optional, not held manage desalination control system optional
- optional, not held perform water treatment procedures optional
- optional, not held perform water treatments optional
- optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
- optional, not held use water disinfection equipment optional
- optional, not held water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held carry out waste water treatment optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held document analysis results optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held install hydraulic systems optional
- optional, not held install plumbing systems optional
- optional, not held maintain records of maintenance interventions optional
- optional, not held operate water purifying equipment optional
- optional, not held percolation optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
15 held skills the water plant technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role compute irrigation pressure skill
- not needed by the target role develop irrigation strategies skill
- not needed by the target role fire prevention procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role fire safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect fire equipment skill
- not needed by the target role install irrigation systems skill
- not needed by the target role irrigation systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep competences about irrigation systems up-to-date skill
- not needed by the target role lay pipe installation skill
- not needed by the target role maintain irrigation controllers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain irrigation systems skill
- not needed by the target role maintain sprinkler systems skill
- not needed by the target role measure water flow skill
- not needed by the target role organise irrigation skill
- not needed by the target role types of sprinklers knowledge
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held percolation optional
Other moves recorded from irrigation technician
Common questions about this move
Can an irrigation technician become a water plant technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An irrigation technician already covers 25% of what a water plant technician is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 4 of which the water plant technician role treats as required.
What skills does an irrigation technician need to become a water plant technician?
8 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is maintain specified water characteristics.
How hard is the move from irrigation technician to water plant technician?
Its learning distance is 71.8 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.