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

optical techniciantooptician

A optical technician already meets 29% of what the optician role asks for. The move turns on 37 required skills not yet in the profile.

From optical technician
29%
Overlap1
To optician
17 Skills carried over
37 Required, not held
80.4 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

29%

Learning distance A rebuild

80.4/ 100

1 Share of the optician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the optical technician 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 optician role treats 16 of its required skills as things a optical technician already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • 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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A optician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a optical technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 44 missing skills fall into 8 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 13 required, 5 supplementary
  • required, not held advise customers on eyewear maintenance required
  • required, not held accept own accountability required
  • required, not held advise on contact lense maintenance required
  • required, not held advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
  • required, not held apply context specific clinical competences required
  • required, not held maintain relationship with customers required
  • required, not held work in multidisciplinary health teams required
  • required, not held achieve sales targets required
  • required, not held educate on the prevention of illness required
  • required, not held ensure client orientation required
  • required, not held interact with healthcare users required
  • required, not held listen actively required
  • required, not held 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
02 assisting and caring 10 required
  • required, not held fit low vision aids required
  • required, not held make referrals to ophthalmology required
  • required, not held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
  • required, not held contribute to continuity of health care required
  • required, not held ensure safety of healthcare users required
  • required, not held adhere to organisational guidelines required
  • required, not held deal with emergency care situations required
  • required, not held empathise with the healthcare user required
  • required, not held follow clinical guidelines required
  • required, not held promote inclusion required
03 management skills 5 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held operate cash register required
  • required, not held apply organisational techniques required
  • required, not held manage staff required
  • required, not held process payments required
  • required, not held respond to changing situations in health care required
  • optional, not held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health optional
04 information skills 3 required
  • required, not held monitor stock level required
  • required, not held apply numeracy skills required
  • required, not held manage healthcare users' data required
05 business, administration and law 2 required
  • required, not held quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required
  • required, not held health care legislation required
06 handling and moving 2 required
  • required, not held adjust eyeglasses required
  • required, not held repair lenses required

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a optician 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 17 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • 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
Skill to acquire Tier
07 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held have computer literacy required
  • optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
08 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required
  • required, not held use lensometer required
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • 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
Skill Type
  • 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.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held quality standards of ophthalmic equipment required
  • required, not held health care legislation required
Index

Other moves recorded from optical technician

Full index of moves from optical technician

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.