Land-based machinery operator to crop production worker
A land-based machinery operator already meets 20% of what the crop production worker role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
80.9/ 100
1 How much of what a crop production worker is expected to do is already part of a land-based machinery operator’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 crop production worker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A crop production worker role treats 4 of its required skills as things a land-based machinery operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- drive agricultural machines
- harvest crop
- operate agricultural machinery
- prepare equipment for harvest
What stands in the way is 12 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A crop production worker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a land-based machinery operator background worth leading with.
- already held prepare equipment for harvest working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held irrigate soil handling and moving
- already held operate agricultural machinery working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held drive agricultural machines working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held harvest crop handling and moving
- already held fertilisation principles agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
All 8 carried skills, including the 4 the crop production worker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 39 missing skills fall into 10 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 cultivate crops for biomass required
- still to learn grow plants required
- still to learn manage crop rotation required
- still to learn monitor fields required
- still to learn prepare planting area required
- still to learn propagate plants required
- still to learn store crops required
- still to learn store products required
- still to learn maintain storage facilities required
- optional, not held apply alternate wetting and drying techniques optional
- optional, not held apply sustainable tillage techniques optional
- optional, not held preserve crop optional
- still to learn agroforestry required
- optional, not held aeroponics optional
- optional, not held agroecology optional
- optional, not held conservation agriculture optional
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held hydroponics optional
- optional, not held integrated pest management optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held plant harvest methods optional
- optional, not held plant propagation optional
- optional, not held soil structure optional
- optional, not held technical equipment for crop production optional
- optional, not held watering principles optional
- optional, not held pest control in plants optional
- still to learn execute fertilisation required
- optional, not held perform on-farm product processing optional
- optional, not held use pest detection sensors optional
- still to learn execute disease and pest control activities required
- optional, not held present the farm facilities optional
- optional, not held provide agri-touristic services optional
- optional, not held use agricultural information systems and databases optional
- optional, not held maintain technical equipment optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a crop production worker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 agroforestry study this
- 02 cultivate crops for biomass practise this
- 03 execute disease and pest control activities 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held drive agricultural machines skill
- already held harvest crop skill
- already held operate agricultural machinery skill
- already held prepare equipment for harvest skill
- already held agronomy knowledge
- already held fertilisation principles knowledge
- already held irrigate soil skill
- already held plant disease control knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held plant species optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held quality criteria for storage facilities optional
- optional, not held types of storage facilities optional
- optional, not held assign duties to agriculture workers optional
27 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held aeroponics optional
- optional, not held agroecology optional
- optional, not held apply alternate wetting and drying techniques optional
- optional, not held apply sustainable tillage techniques optional
- optional, not held assign duties to agriculture workers optional
- optional, not held conservation agriculture optional
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held hydroponics optional
- optional, not held integrated pest management optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held perform on-farm product processing optional
- optional, not held plant harvest methods optional
- optional, not held plant propagation optional
- optional, not held plant species optional
- optional, not held present the farm facilities optional
- optional, not held preserve crop optional
- optional, not held provide agri-touristic services optional
- optional, not held quality criteria for storage facilities optional
- optional, not held soil structure optional
- optional, not held technical equipment for crop production optional
- optional, not held types of storage facilities optional
- optional, not held use agricultural information systems and databases optional
- optional, not held use pest detection sensors optional
- optional, not held watering principles optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held maintain technical equipment optional
- optional, not held pest control in plants optional
25 held skills the crop production worker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role address problems critically skill
- not needed by the target role apply precision farming skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role fertiliser products knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow written instructions skill
- not needed by the target role handling chemical products for soil and plants skill
- not needed by the target role herbicides knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify plants characteristics skill
- not needed by the target role load equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain mechanical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role make independent operating decisions skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical tools knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate GPS systems skill
- not needed by the target role operate landscaping equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform loading and unloading operations skill
- not needed by the target role pesticides knowledge
- not needed by the target role road traffic laws knowledge
- not needed by the target role spread fertiliser skill
- not needed by the target role tow a tractor implement using the power take-off skill
- not needed by the target role unload equipment skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role variety of botanicals knowledge
- not needed by the target role work in a land-based team skill
18 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 agroforestry required
- optional, not held aeroponics optional
- optional, not held agroecology optional
- optional, not held conservation agriculture optional
- optional, not held crop production principles optional
- optional, not held hydroponics optional
- optional, not held integrated pest management optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held plant harvest methods optional
- optional, not held plant propagation optional
- optional, not held plant species optional
- optional, not held quality criteria for storage facilities optional
- optional, not held soil structure optional
- optional, not held technical equipment for crop production optional
- optional, not held types of storage facilities optional
- optional, not held watering principles optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held pest control in plants optional
Other moves recorded from land-based machinery operator
Common questions about this move
Can a land-based machinery operator become a crop production worker?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A land-based machinery operator already covers 20% of what a crop production worker is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 4 of which the crop production worker role treats as required.
What skills does a land-based machinery operator need to become a crop production worker?
12 required skills are missing, plus 27 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is agroforestry.
How hard is the move from land-based machinery operator to crop production worker?
Its learning distance is 80.9 out of 100, which is the career change 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.