Table 1Transition record

parliamentary assistanttosecretary

A parliamentary assistant already meets 25% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.

From parliamentary assistant

25%

Overlap1

To secretary

8 Skills carried over

15 Required, not held

75 Difficulty2

Career overlap Distant match

25%

Learning distance A rebuild

75/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 Share of the secretary role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the parliamentary assistant 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 secretary role treats 7 of its required skills as things a parliamentary assistant already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

company policies
disseminate messages to people
fill out forms
organise business documents
organise facilities for office personnel
perform office routine activities

What stands in the way is 15 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secretary role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a parliamentary assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held organise facilities for office personnel management skills
already held fill out forms information skills
already held write meeting reports communication, collaboration and creativity
already held disseminate messages to people management skills
already held organise business documents management skills
already held process commissioned instructions communication, collaboration and creativity

All 8 carried skills, including the 7 the secretary role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 35 missing skills fall into 5 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 5 required, 7 supplementary

required, not held communicate schedules to the people concerned required
required, not held communicate by telephone required
required, not held disseminate internal communications required
required, not held draft corporate emails required
required, not held maintain internal communication systems required

optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
optional, not held liaise with typists optional
optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
optional, not held prepare presentation material optional

02 working with computers 4 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held manage digital documents required
required, not held use microsoft office required
required, not held use spreadsheets software required
required, not held use word processing software required

optional, not held manage online content optional
optional, not held use personal organization software optional

03 management skills 3 required, 7 supplementary

required, not held handle mail required
required, not held administer appointments required
required, not held manage personnel agenda required

optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
optional, not held handle petty cash optional
optional, not held manage accounts optional
optional, not held manage budgets optional
optional, not held use office systems optional

04 information skills 3 required

required, not held file documents required
required, not held keep task records required
required, not held monitor staff absences required

05 business, administration and law 4 supplementary

optional, not held labour law optional
optional, not held accounting techniques optional
optional, not held education administration optional
optional, not held education law optional

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a secretary 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 8 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held company policies knowledge
already held disseminate messages to people skill
already held fill out forms skill
already held organise business documents skill
already held organise facilities for office personnel skill
already held perform office routine activities skill
already held process commissioned instructions skill
already held write meeting reports skill

20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
optional, not held labour law optional
optional, not held manage online content optional
optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
optional, not held accounting techniques optional
optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
optional, not held education administration optional
optional, not held education law optional
optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
optional, not held handle petty cash optional
optional, not held liaise with typists optional
optional, not held manage accounts optional
optional, not held manage budgets optional
optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
optional, not held use office systems optional
optional, not held use personal organization software optional

41 held skills the secretary role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role advise on communication strategies skill
not needed by the target role advise on drafting policies skill
not needed by the target role advise on foreign affairs policies skill
not needed by the target role advise on government policy compliance skill
not needed by the target role analyse text before translation skill
not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
not needed by the target role attend meetings skill
not needed by the target role attend parliament plenaries skill
not needed by the target role business analysis knowledge
not needed by the target role check official documents skill
not needed by the target role civil law knowledge
not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
not needed by the target role communicate with stakeholders skill
not needed by the target role communication knowledge
not needed by the target role communication principles knowledge
not needed by the target role constitutional law knowledge
not needed by the target role develop organisational policies skill
not needed by the target role draft legislation skill
not needed by the target role draft press releases skill
not needed by the target role ensure compliance with policies skill
not needed by the target role examine legislative drafts skill
not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
not needed by the target role good governance knowledge
not needed by the target role government policy knowledge
not needed by the target role identify policy breach skill
not needed by the target role inspect government policy compliance skill
not needed by the target role liaise with government officials skill
not needed by the target role maintain correspondence records skill
not needed by the target role manage relationships with stakeholders skill
not needed by the target role monitor company policy skill
not needed by the target role negotiate with stakeholders skill
not needed by the target role office software knowledge
not needed by the target role organisational policies knowledge
not needed by the target role politics knowledge
not needed by the target role pose questions referring to documents skill
not needed by the target role respect publication formats skill
not needed by the target role respond to inquiries in written form skill
not needed by the target role review drafts skill
not needed by the target role strategic planning knowledge
not needed by the target role supervise advocacy work skill

1 further entry not listed here

4 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

optional, not held labour law optional
optional, not held accounting techniques optional
optional, not held education administration optional
optional, not held education law optional

Index

Other moves recorded from parliamentary assistant

Full index of moves from parliamentary assistant

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.