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

management assistanttosecretary

A management assistant already meets 30% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.

From management assistant
30%
Overlap1
To secretary
10 Skills carried over
14 Required, not held
71.5 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

30%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

71.5/ 100

1 Share of the secretary role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the management assistant 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 secretary role treats 8 of its required skills as things a management assistant already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • company policies
  • disseminate internal communications
  • disseminate messages to people
  • draft corporate emails
  • maintain internal communication systems
  • manage personnel agenda

What stands in the way is 14 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 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secretary role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a management assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held manage personnel agenda management skills
  • already held draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held write meeting reports communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held disseminate internal communications communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held disseminate messages to people management skills
  • already held process commissioned instructions communication, collaboration and creativity

All 10 carried skills, including the 8 the secretary role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 33 missing skills fall into 5 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 management skills 5 required, 6 supplementary
  • required, not held handle mail required
  • required, not held administer appointments required
  • required, not held organise business documents required
  • required, not held organise facilities for office personnel required
  • required, not held perform office routine activities required
  • optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
  • optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
  • optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
  • optional, not held handle petty cash optional
  • optional, not held manage accounts optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
02 information skills 4 required
  • required, not held file documents required
  • required, not held fill out forms required
  • required, not held keep task records required
  • required, not held monitor staff absences required
03 working with computers 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held manage digital documents required
  • required, not held use microsoft office required
  • required, not held use word processing software required
  • optional, not held manage online content optional
  • optional, not held use personal organization software optional
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 7 supplementary
  • required, not held communicate schedules to the people concerned required
  • required, not held communicate by telephone required
  • optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
  • optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
  • optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
  • optional, not held liaise with typists optional
  • optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
  • optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
  • optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
05 business, administration and law 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held labour law optional
  • optional, not held accounting techniques optional
  • optional, not held education administration optional
  • optional, not held education law optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a secretary 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 10 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held company policies knowledge
  • already held disseminate internal communications skill
  • already held disseminate messages to people skill
  • already held draft corporate emails skill
  • already held maintain internal communication systems skill
  • already held manage personnel agenda skill
  • already held process commissioned instructions skill
  • already held use spreadsheets software skill
  • already held use office systems skill
  • already held write meeting reports skill
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
  • optional, not held labour law optional
  • optional, not held manage online content optional
  • optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
  • optional, not held accounting techniques optional
  • optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
  • optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
  • optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
  • optional, not held education administration optional
  • optional, not held education law optional
  • optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
  • optional, not held handle petty cash optional
  • optional, not held liaise with typists optional
  • optional, not held manage accounts optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
  • optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
  • optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
  • optional, not held use personal organization software optional
31 held skills the secretary role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accounting department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role assist visitors skill
  • not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
  • not needed by the target role draft press releases skill
  • not needed by the target role financial department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
  • not needed by the target role human resources department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role legal department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liaise with board members skill
  • not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain register of shareholders skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain statutory books skill
  • not needed by the target role management department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role marketing department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role operations department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform business research skill
  • not needed by the target role perform clerical duties skill
  • not needed by the target role perform cost accounting activities skill
  • not needed by the target role personnel management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role public relations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role revise drafts made by managers skill
  • not needed by the target role sales department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
  • not needed by the target role support managers skill
  • not needed by the target role track key performance indicators skill
  • not needed by the target role translate language concepts skill
  • not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
  • not needed by the target role use free typing techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
4 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
  • optional, not held labour law optional
  • optional, not held accounting techniques optional
  • optional, not held education administration optional
  • optional, not held education law optional
Index

Other moves recorded from management assistant

Full index of moves from management assistant

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.