Nanny to companion
A nanny already meets 45% of what the companion role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.2/ 100
1 How much of what a companion is expected to do is already part of a nanny’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 companion role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A companion role treats 7 of its required skills as things a nanny already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- clean rooms
- clean surfaces
- iron textiles
- prepare ready-made dishes
- prepare sandwiches
- use cooking techniques
What stands in the way is 8 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A companion role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a nanny background worth leading with.
- already held buy groceries communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepare ready-made dishes assisting and caring
- already held feed pets handling and moving
- already held prepare sandwiches assisting and caring
- already held use gardening equipment handling and moving
- already held iron textiles handling and moving
All 12 carried skills, including the 7 the companion role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 4 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 accompany people required
- still to learn empathise with the healthcare user required
- still to learn keep company required
- still to learn relate empathetically required
- optional, not held give advice on personal matters optional
- optional, not held support individuals to adjust to physical disability optional
- still to learn make the beds required
- still to learn wash the laundry required
- optional, not held provide dog walking services optional
- optional, not held remove dust optional
- optional, not held wash vehicles optional
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn listen actively required
- optional, not held assist clients with special needs optional
- optional, not held support nurses optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a companion 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 · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held clean rooms skill
- already held clean surfaces skill
- already held iron textiles skill
- already held prepare ready-made dishes skill
- already held prepare sandwiches skill
- already held use cooking techniques skill
- already held use food preparation techniques skill
- already held buy groceries skill
- already held drive vehicles skill
- already held feed pets skill
- already held provide first aid skill
- already held use gardening equipment skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held give advice on personal matters optional
- optional, not held provide dog walking services optional
- optional, not held remove dust optional
- optional, not held support individuals to adjust to physical disability optional
- optional, not held wash vehicles optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- optional, not held assist clients with special needs optional
- optional, not held support nurses optional
24 held skills the companion role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess the development of youth skill
- not needed by the target role assist children in developing personal skills skill
- not needed by the target role assist children with homework skill
- not needed by the target role assist students in their learning skill
- not needed by the target role attend to children's basic physical needs skill
- not needed by the target role baby care knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out wound care skill
- not needed by the target role common children's diseases knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role cook pastry products skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate when teaching skill
- not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
- not needed by the target role entertain people skill
- not needed by the target role give constructive feedback skill
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role handle children's problems skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with children's parents skill
- not needed by the target role play with children skill
- not needed by the target role promote human rights skill
- not needed by the target role supervise children skill
- not needed by the target role support children's wellbeing skill
- not needed by the target role support the positiveness of youths skill
- not needed by the target role use reheating techniques skill
- not needed by the target role workplace sanitation knowledge
Common questions about this move
Can a nanny become a companion?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A nanny already covers 45% of what a companion is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 7 of which the companion role treats as required.
What skills does a nanny need to become a companion?
8 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is accompany people.
How hard is the move from nanny to companion?
Its learning distance is 54.2 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.