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

masseur/masseusetomassage therapist

A masseur/masseuse already meets 70% of what the massage therapist role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

From masseur/masseuse
70%
Overlap1
To massage therapist
46 Skills carried over
6 Required, not held
37.9 Difficulty2
Career overlap Strong match

70%

Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

37.9/ 100

1 Share of the massage therapist role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the masseur/masseuse 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 massage therapist role treats 15 of its required skills as things a masseur/masseuse already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • accept own accountability
  • apply massage therapy
  • communicate with customers
  • contraindications
  • develop personalised massage plan
  • give massages

What stands in the way is 6 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 46 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A massage therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a masseur/masseuse background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held contraindications health and welfare
  • already held apply sports massage assisting and caring
  • already held apply thermotherapy assisting and caring
  • already held conduct pregnancy massages assisting and caring
  • already held electrotherapy health and welfare
  • already held develop personalised massage plan assisting and caring

All 46 carried skills, including the 15 the massage therapist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 20 missing skills fall into 7 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 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held discuss the medical history of the healthcare user required
  • required, not held provide health education required
  • optional, not held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions optional
02 health and welfare 1 required, 8 supplementary
  • required, not held human anatomy required
  • optional, not held manual lymphatic drainage massage optional
  • optional, not held phytotherapy optional
  • optional, not held reiki optional
  • optional, not held tai chi optional
  • optional, not held human physiology optional
  • optional, not held pathology optional
  • optional, not held rehabilitation optional
  • optional, not held sport and exercise medicine optional
03 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held empathise with the healthcare user required
  • optional, not held comply with legislation related to health care optional
04 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held manage healthcare users' data required
  • optional, not held process medical insurance claims optional
05 handling and moving 1 required
  • required, not held maintain work area cleanliness required
06 business, administration and law 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held administrative tasks in a medical environment optional
  • optional, not held health care legislation optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a massage therapist 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 46 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held accept own accountability skill
  • already held apply massage therapy skill
  • already held communicate with customers skill
  • already held contraindications knowledge
  • already held develop personalised massage plan skill
  • already held give massages skill
  • already held identify customer's needs skill
  • already held maintain customer service skill
  • already held maintain personal hygiene standards skill
  • already held maintain privacy of service users skill
  • already held massage theory knowledge
  • already held massage types knowledge
  • already held musculoskeletal anatomy knowledge
  • already held skin types knowledge
  • already held work ergonomically skill
  • already held administer appointments skill
  • already held administer hydrotherapy skill
  • already held apply acupuncture skill
  • already held apply aromatherapy skill
  • already held apply deep tissue massage skill
  • already held apply sports massage skill
  • already held apply thermotherapy skill
  • already held balneotherapy knowledge
  • already held conduct pregnancy massages skill
  • already held cosmetic manicure knowledge
  • already held cosmetic pedicure knowledge
  • already held cosmetics knowledge
  • already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
  • already held electrotherapy knowledge
  • already held energy therapy knowledge
  • already held etiopathy knowledge
  • already held fasciatherapy knowledge
  • already held hydrotherapy knowledge
  • already held kinetics knowledge
  • already held liaise with industry experts skill
  • already held maintain equipment skill
  • already held maintain professional administration skill
  • already held manage a small-to-medium business skill
  • already held order supplies skill
  • already held perform facial treatment skill
  • already held pluck hair skill
  • already held process payments skill
  • already held provide individual exercise programmes skill
  • already held reflexology knowledge
  • already held shiatsu knowledge
  • already held use hair removal lasers skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 services 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held health care system optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held manual lymphatic drainage massage optional
  • optional, not held administrative tasks in a medical environment optional
  • optional, not held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions optional
  • optional, not held phytotherapy optional
  • optional, not held reiki optional
  • optional, not held tai chi optional
  • optional, not held comply with legislation related to health care optional
  • optional, not held health care legislation optional
  • optional, not held health care system optional
  • optional, not held human physiology optional
  • optional, not held pathology optional
  • optional, not held process medical insurance claims optional
  • optional, not held rehabilitation optional
  • optional, not held sport and exercise medicine optional
2 held skills the massage therapist role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role give shiatsu massages skill
  • not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
12 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
  • required, not held human anatomy required
  • optional, not held manual lymphatic drainage massage optional
  • optional, not held administrative tasks in a medical environment optional
  • optional, not held phytotherapy optional
  • optional, not held reiki optional
  • optional, not held tai chi optional
  • optional, not held health care legislation optional
  • optional, not held health care system optional
  • optional, not held human physiology optional
  • optional, not held pathology optional
  • optional, not held rehabilitation optional
  • optional, not held sport and exercise medicine optional
Index
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.