Learning mentor to academic support officer
A learning mentor already meets 47% of what the academic support officer role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.3/ 100
1 How much of what an academic support officer is expected to do is already part of a learning mentor’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 academic support officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An academic support officer role treats 10 of its required skills as things a learning mentor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist in the organisation of school events
- communicate with youth
- cooperate with education professionals
- counsel students
- guarantee students' safety
- identify education needs
What stands in the way is 10 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An academic support officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a learning mentor background worth leading with.
- already held school psychology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held counsel students communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held show consideration for student's situation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held identify education needs management skills
- already held education law business, administration and law
- already held monitor student's behaviour management skills
All 16 carried skills, including the 10 the academic support officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 manage access programmes required
- still to learn recruit student ambassador required
- still to learn assess students required
- still to learn coordinate educational programmes required
- still to learn tutor students required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held teach university class optional
- optional, not held give constructive feedback optional
- optional, not held promote education course optional
- optional, not held promote social awareness optional
- still to learn assessment processes required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- still to learn project management required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held university procedures optional
- still to learn tackle issues that block academic progress required
- optional, not held provide information on study programmes optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an academic support officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage access programmes practise this
- 02 recruit student ambassador practise this
- 03 project management study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held communicate with youth skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held counsel students skill
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held oversee extra-curricular activities skill
- already held show consideration for student's situation skill
- already held support children's wellbeing skill
- already held education law knowledge
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held liaise with educational staff skill
- already held liaise with educational support staff skill
- already held monitor student's behaviour skill
- already held school psychology knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held teach university class optional
- optional, not held university procedures optional
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
- optional, not held give constructive feedback optional
- optional, not held promote education course optional
- optional, not held promote social awareness optional
- optional, not held provide information on study programmes optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
23 held skills the academic support officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role action research knowledge
- not needed by the target role adapt teaching to student's capabilities skill
- not needed by the target role apply person-centred care skill
- not needed by the target role assist students in their learning skill
- not needed by the target role assist students with their enrolment skill
- not needed by the target role behavioural disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role communication disorders knowledge
- not needed by the target role construct individual learning plans skill
- not needed by the target role consult student's support system skill
- not needed by the target role counselling methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role developmental psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- not needed by the target role learning needs analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage resources for educational purposes skill
- not needed by the target role organise projects to fill education needs skill
- not needed by the target role perform playground surveillance skill
- not needed by the target role primary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote the safeguarding of young people skill
- not needed by the target role provide teacher support skill
- not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role secondary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role social development knowledge
- not needed by the target role support the positiveness of youths 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.
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn assessment processes required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held university procedures optional
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
Common questions about this move
Can a learning mentor become an academic support officer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A learning mentor already covers 47% of what an academic support officer is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 10 of which the academic support officer role treats as required.
What skills does a learning mentor need to become an academic support officer?
10 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage access programmes.
How hard is the move from learning mentor to academic support officer?
Its learning distance is 56.3 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.