Pastry maker to baker
A pastry maker already meets 76% of what the baker role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
37.2/ 100
1 How much of what a baker is expected to do is already part of a pastry maker’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 baker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A baker role treats 30 of its required skills as things a pastry maker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- administer ingredients in food production
- administer lactic ferment cultures to manufacturing products
- apply GMP
- apply HACCP
- apply flame handling regulations
- apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
What stands in the way is 5 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 57 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A baker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a pastry maker background worth leading with.
- already held mould doughs handling and moving
- already held bake confections handling and moving
- already held bakery ingredients engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held bakery production methods engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held monitor flour unloading equipment handling and moving
- already held tend bakery ovens working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 57 carried skills, including the 30 the baker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 9 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 prepare bakery products required
- still to learn ensure sanitation required
- still to learn mark differences in colours required
- optional, not held select adequate packaging for food products optional
- still to learn food and beverage industry required
- optional, not held energy conservation optional
- still to learn financial capability required
- optional, not held assist in the development of standard operating procedures in the food chain optional
- optional, not held manage challenging work conditions during food processing operations optional
- optional, not held manage production changeovers optional
- optional, not held identify market niches optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held work in an organised manner optional
- optional, not held adapt efficient food processing practices optional
- optional, not held identify the factors causing changes in food during storage optional
- optional, not held monitor roasting optional
- optional, not held control of expenses optional
- optional, not held examine production samples optional
- optional, not held enforce health and safety regulations for bread products optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation in food production optional
- optional, not held stand high temperatures optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a baker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 food and beverage industry study this
- 02 prepare bakery products practise this
- 03 ensure sanitation 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 57 skills that carry over
- already held administer ingredients in food production skill
- already held administer lactic ferment cultures to manufacturing products skill
- already held apply GMP skill
- already held apply HACCP skill
- already held apply flame handling regulations skill
- already held apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages skill
- already held bake goods skill
- already held bakery ingredients knowledge
- already held bakery production methods knowledge
- already held care for food aesthetic skill
- already held check quality of products on the production line skill
- already held clean food and beverage machinery skill
- already held crafting knowledge
- already held ensure correct use of bakery equipment skill
- already held follow hygienic procedures during food processing skill
- already held food safety principles knowledge
- already held knead food products skill
- already held maintain cutting equipment skill
- already held measure precise food processing operations skill
- already held monitor flour unloading equipment skill
- already held monitor machine operations skill
- already held monitor temperature in farinaceous processes skill
- already held mould doughs skill
- already held operate mixing of food products skill
- already held operate weighing machine skill
- already held select adequate ingredients skill
- already held set up machine controls skill
- already held store raw food materials skill
- already held tend bakery ovens skill
- already held work according to recipe skill
- already held act reliably skill
- already held analyse characteristics of food products at reception skill
- already held bake confections skill
- already held create new recipes skill
- already held dispose food waste skill
- already held execute chilling processes to food products skill
- already held exert quality control to processing food skill
- already held fermentation processes of food knowledge
- already held follow production schedule skill
- already held follow verbal instructions skill
- already held follow written instructions skill
- already held handle delivery of raw materials skill
- already held improvise to occuring food processing situations skill
- already held keep inventory of goods in production skill
- already held label samples skill
- already held liaise with colleagues skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held lift heavy weights skill
- already held make artistic food creations skill
- already held manufacturing of confectionery skill
- already held mill operations knowledge
- already held milling machines knowledge
- already held monitor operations of cleaning machines skill
- already held operate a heat treatment process skill
- already held perform services in a flexible manner skill
- already held processes of foods and beverages manufacturing knowledge
- already held work in a food processing team skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held negotiate price optional
- optional, not held provide training on quality management supervision optional
- optional, not held disassemble equipment optional
- optional, not held tend packaging machines optional
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held adapt efficient food processing practices optional
- optional, not held assist in the development of standard operating procedures in the food chain optional
- optional, not held enforce health and safety regulations for bread products optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation in food production optional
- optional, not held identify the factors causing changes in food during storage optional
- optional, not held manage challenging work conditions during food processing operations optional
- optional, not held manage production changeovers optional
- optional, not held monitor roasting optional
- optional, not held select adequate packaging for food products optional
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held control of expenses optional
- optional, not held disassemble equipment optional
- optional, not held energy conservation optional
- optional, not held examine production samples optional
- optional, not held identify market niches optional
- optional, not held negotiate price optional
- optional, not held provide training on quality management supervision optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held stand high temperatures optional
- optional, not held tend packaging machines optional
- optional, not held work in an organised manner optional
7 held skills the baker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse trends in the food and beverage industries skill
- not needed by the target role develop new food products skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate improvement with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate terms with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role perform chemical experiments skill
- not needed by the target role secure goods skill
- not needed by the target role types of whisks knowledge
4 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 food and beverage industry required
- still to learn financial capability required
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held energy conservation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a pastry maker become a baker?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A pastry maker already covers 76% of what a baker is expected to do: 57 skills carry over, 30 of which the baker role treats as required.
What skills does a pastry maker need to become a baker?
5 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is food and beverage industry.
How hard is the move from pastry maker to baker?
Its learning distance is 37.2 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.