RecordMove

Massage therapist to shiatsu practitioner

A massage therapist already meets 41% of what the shiatsu practitioner role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From massage therapist

Partial match

To shiatsu practitioner

23 You already bring

13 Still to learn

56 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

67/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a shiatsu practitioner is expected to do is already part of a massage therapist’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 shiatsu practitioner role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A shiatsu practitioner role treats 9 of its required skills as things a massage therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

communicate with customers
empathise with the healthcare user
human anatomy
human physiology
identify customer's needs
maintain work area cleanliness

What stands in the way is 13 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 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A shiatsu practitioner role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a massage therapist background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held massage types health and welfare
already held massage theory health and welfare
already held apply deep tissue massage assisting and caring
already held balneotherapy health and welfare
already held reflexology health and welfare
already held etiopathy health and welfare

All 23 carried skills, including the 9 the shiatsu practitioner role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 33 missing skills fall into 6 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.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 6 supplementary

still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
still to learn develop therapeutic relationships required
still to learn follow-up on healthcare users' treatment required
still to learn listen actively required

optional, not held advise on healthcare users' informed consent optional
optional, not held advise on mental health optional
optional, not held promote healthy lifestyle optional
optional, not held advise on healthy lifestyles optional
optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional

02 health and welfare 3 required, 11 supplementary

still to learn complementary and alternative medicine required
still to learn pathologies treated by acupuncture required
still to learn traditional Chinese medicine required

optional, not held acupressure optional
optional, not held acupuncture methods optional
optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
optional, not held homeopathy remedies optional
optional, not held iridology optional
optional, not held kinesiology optional
optional, not held types of aromatherapy treatments optional
optional, not held general medicine optional
optional, not held homeopathy optional
optional, not held neurophysiology optional
optional, not held sterilization techniques optional

03 assisting and caring 3 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
still to learn give shiatsu massages required
still to learn identify energetic meridians required

optional, not held apply a holistic approach in care optional
optional, not held select acupuncture points optional

04 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn observe healthcare users required

optional, not held address side effects of menopause optional

05 management skills 1 required

still to learn promote mental health required

06 services 1 required

still to learn relaxation techniques required

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a shiatsu practitioner 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 23 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held communicate with customers skill
already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
already held human anatomy knowledge
already held human physiology knowledge
already held identify customer's needs skill
already held maintain work area cleanliness skill
already held massage theory knowledge
already held massage types knowledge
already held provide health education skill
already held accept own accountability skill
already held apply acupuncture skill
already held apply aromatherapy skill
already held apply deep tissue massage skill
already held apply massage therapy skill
already held balneotherapy knowledge
already held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions skill
already held etiopathy knowledge
already held fasciatherapy knowledge
already held give massages skill
already held kinetics knowledge
already held phytotherapy knowledge
already held reflexology knowledge
already held skin types knowledge

20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held acupressure optional
optional, not held acupuncture methods optional
optional, not held address side effects of menopause optional
optional, not held advise on healthcare users' informed consent optional
optional, not held advise on mental health optional
optional, not held apply a holistic approach in care optional
optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
optional, not held homeopathy remedies optional
optional, not held iridology optional
optional, not held kinesiology optional
optional, not held promote healthy lifestyle optional
optional, not held select acupuncture points optional
optional, not held types of aromatherapy treatments optional
optional, not held advise on healthy lifestyles optional
optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
optional, not held general medicine optional
optional, not held homeopathy optional
optional, not held neurophysiology optional
optional, not held sterilization techniques optional

43 held skills the shiatsu practitioner role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role administer appointments skill
not needed by the target role administer hydrotherapy skill
not needed by the target role administrative tasks in a medical environment knowledge
not needed by the target role apply sports massage skill
not needed by the target role apply thermotherapy skill
not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
not needed by the target role conduct pregnancy massages skill
not needed by the target role contraindications knowledge
not needed by the target role cosmetic manicure knowledge
not needed by the target role cosmetic pedicure knowledge
not needed by the target role cosmetics knowledge
not needed by the target role develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
not needed by the target role develop personalised massage plan skill
not needed by the target role discuss the medical history of the healthcare user skill
not needed by the target role electrotherapy knowledge
not needed by the target role energy therapy knowledge
not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
not needed by the target role health care system knowledge
not needed by the target role hydrotherapy knowledge
not needed by the target role liaise with industry experts skill
not needed by the target role maintain customer service skill
not needed by the target role maintain equipment skill
not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards skill
not needed by the target role maintain privacy of service users skill
not needed by the target role maintain professional administration skill
not needed by the target role manage a small-to-medium business skill
not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
not needed by the target role manual lymphatic drainage massage knowledge
not needed by the target role musculoskeletal anatomy knowledge
not needed by the target role order supplies skill
not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
not needed by the target role perform facial treatment skill
not needed by the target role pluck hair skill
not needed by the target role process medical insurance claims skill
not needed by the target role process payments skill
not needed by the target role provide individual exercise programmes skill
not needed by the target role rehabilitation knowledge
not needed by the target role reiki knowledge
not needed by the target role shiatsu knowledge
not needed by the target role sport and exercise medicine knowledge

3 further entries not listed here

15 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 pick up Tier

still to learn complementary and alternative medicine required
still to learn pathologies treated by acupuncture required
still to learn traditional Chinese medicine required
still to learn relaxation techniques required
optional, not held acupressure optional
optional, not held acupuncture methods optional
optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
optional, not held homeopathy remedies optional
optional, not held iridology optional
optional, not held kinesiology optional
optional, not held types of aromatherapy treatments optional
optional, not held general medicine optional
optional, not held homeopathy optional
optional, not held neurophysiology optional
optional, not held sterilization techniques optional

Index

Other moves recorded from massage therapist

Full index of moves from massage therapist

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a massage therapist become a shiatsu practitioner?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A massage therapist already covers 41% of what a shiatsu practitioner is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 9 of which the shiatsu practitioner role treats as required.

What skills does a massage therapist need to become a shiatsu practitioner?

13 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is apply context specific clinical competences.

How hard is the move from massage therapist to shiatsu practitioner?

Its learning distance is 67 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

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.