Optical technician to optician
An optical technician already meets 29% of what the optician role asks for. The move turns on 37 required skills not yet in the profile.
80.4/ 100
1 How much of what an optician is expected to do is already part of an optical technician’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 optician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An optician role treats 16 of its required skills as things an optical technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- comply with legislation related to health care
- comply with optical prescriptions
- cut lenses for eyeglasses
- dispense corrective lenses
- eye protection regulations
- handle contact lenses
What stands in the way is 37 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 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An optician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an optical technician background worth leading with.
- already held dispense corrective lenses assisting and caring
- already held handle contact lenses assisting and caring
- already held perform frames' repairs working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held prepare optical laboratory activities handling and moving
- already held eye protection regulations services
- already held comply with optical prescriptions working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 17 carried skills, including the 16 the optician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 44 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 advise customers on eyewear maintenance required
- still to learn accept own accountability required
- still to learn advise on contact lense maintenance required
- still to learn advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
- still to learn maintain relationship with customers required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn achieve sales targets required
- still to learn educate on the prevention of illness required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- still to learn interact with healthcare users required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- optional, not held provide health education optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
- still to learn fit low vision aids required
- still to learn make referrals to ophthalmology required
- still to learn comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
- still to learn contribute to continuity of health care required
- still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn deal with emergency care situations required
- still to learn empathise with the healthcare user required
- still to learn follow clinical guidelines required
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- still to learn operate cash register required
- still to learn apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn process payments required
- still to learn respond to changing situations in health care required
- optional, not held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health optional
- still to learn monitor stock level required
- still to learn apply numeracy skills required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- still to learn quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn adjust eyeglasses required
- still to learn repair lenses required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an optician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adjust eyeglasses practise this
- 02 advise customers on eyewear maintenance practise this
- 03 fit low vision aids practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with optical prescriptions skill
- already held cut lenses for eyeglasses skill
- already held dispense corrective lenses skill
- already held eye protection regulations knowledge
- already held handle contact lenses skill
- already held maintain records of clients' prescriptions skill
- already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- already held operate optical measuring equipment skill
- already held optical glass characteristics knowledge
- already held optical instruments knowledge
- already held perform frames' repairs skill
- already held prepare optical laboratory activities skill
- already held sell optical products skill
- already held use ophthalmic instruments skill
- already held verify lenses compliance skill
- already held advise customers on optical instruments maintenance skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn have computer literacy required
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
- still to learn use lensometer required
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health optional
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- optional, not held provide health education optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
22 held skills the optician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply a protective layer skill
- not needed by the target role characteristics of faces knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of products knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of services knowledge
- not needed by the target role clean glass surfaces skill
- not needed by the target role e-procurement knowledge
- not needed by the target role manipulate glass skill
- not needed by the target role manufacturer's recommended price knowledge
- not needed by the target role manufacturing processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate optical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate precision measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role optics knowledge
- not needed by the target role order optical supplies skill
- not needed by the target role perform maintenance on eyewear skill
- not needed by the target role perform technical tasks with great care skill
- not needed by the target role product comprehension knowledge
- not needed by the target role production processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role smooth glass edges skill
- not needed by the target role smooth glass surface skill
- not needed by the target role supply chain principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of optical instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role use CAD software skill
2 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 quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required
- still to learn health care legislation required
Common questions about this move
Can an optical technician become an optician?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An optical technician already covers 29% of what an optician is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 16 of which the optician role treats as required.
What skills does an optical technician need to become an optician?
37 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adjust eyeglasses.
How hard is the move from optical technician to optician?
Its learning distance is 80.4 out of 100, which is the career change 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.