Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Pipeline maintenance worker to drain technician

A pipeline maintenance worker already meets 40% of what the drain technician role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From pipeline maintenance worker
40 % overlap
Partial match
To drain technician
10 You already bring
6 Still to learn
30 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

56.1/ 100

1 How much of what a drain technician is expected to do is already part of a pipeline maintenance worker’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 drain technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A drain technician role treats 6 of its required skills as things a pipeline maintenance worker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • apply health and safety standards
  • assemble manufactured pipeline parts
  • detect flaws in pipeline infrastructure
  • ensure regulatory compliance in pipeline infrastructures
  • test pipeline infrastructure operations
  • types of pipelines

What stands in the way is 6 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 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A drain technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a pipeline maintenance worker background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held assemble manufactured pipeline parts constructing
  • already held test pipeline infrastructure operations information skills
  • already held detect flaws in pipeline infrastructure constructing
  • already held ensure regulatory compliance in pipeline infrastructures assisting and caring
  • already held types of pipelines engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held inspect pipelines constructing

All 10 carried skills, including the 6 the drain technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 20 missing skills fall into 7 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 constructing 4 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn install drainage well systems required
  • still to learn adjust cylinder valves required
  • still to learn install plumbing systems required
  • still to learn lay pipe installation required
  • optional, not held maintain water distribution equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain water storage equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain water treatment equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain industrial equipment optional
  • optional, not held repair pipelines optional
02 information skills 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn read standard blueprints required
  • optional, not held examine engineering principles optional
  • optional, not held maintain records of maintenance interventions optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn liaise with engineers required
  • optional, not held advise on equipment maintenance optional
04 assisting and caring 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held regulate the flow of substances in pipelines optional
  • optional, not held mitigate environmental impact of pipeline projects optional
05 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held perform follow-up on pipeline route services optional
  • optional, not held supervise sewerage systems construction optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held engineering principles optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a drain technician 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 10 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply health and safety standards skill
  • already held assemble manufactured pipeline parts skill
  • already held detect flaws in pipeline infrastructure skill
  • already held ensure regulatory compliance in pipeline infrastructures skill
  • already held test pipeline infrastructure operations skill
  • already held types of pipelines knowledge
  • already held inspect pipelines skill
  • already held operate soldering equipment skill
  • already held operate welding equipment skill
  • already held use personal protection equipment skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held carry out cleaning of road drains optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held maintain water distribution equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain water storage equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain water treatment equipment optional
  • optional, not held perform follow-up on pipeline route services optional
  • optional, not held regulate the flow of substances in pipelines optional
  • optional, not held supervise sewerage systems construction optional
  • optional, not held advise on equipment maintenance optional
  • optional, not held carry out cleaning of road drains optional
  • optional, not held engineering principles optional
  • optional, not held examine engineering principles optional
  • optional, not held maintain industrial equipment optional
  • optional, not held maintain records of maintenance interventions optional
  • optional, not held mitigate environmental impact of pipeline projects optional
  • optional, not held repair pipelines optional
14 held skills the drain technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role comply with pipeline transport regulations skill
  • not needed by the target role cooperate with colleagues skill
  • not needed by the target role follow up pipeline integrity management priorities skill
  • not needed by the target role follow verbal instructions skill
  • not needed by the target role follow written instructions skill
  • not needed by the target role handle chemicals skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain pipeline coating properties skill
  • not needed by the target role measure parts of manufactured products skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor storage vessels used to transport goods via pipeline skill
  • not needed by the target role pipeline coating properties knowledge
  • not needed by the target role prevent pipeline deterioration skill
  • not needed by the target role security requirements of goods transported via pipelines knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use rigging equipment skill
1 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 pick up Tier
  • optional, not held engineering principles optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a pipeline maintenance worker become a drain technician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A pipeline maintenance worker already covers 40% of what a drain technician is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 6 of which the drain technician role treats as required.

What skills does a pipeline maintenance worker need to become a drain technician?

6 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by constructing. The single most important is install drainage well systems.

How hard is the move from pipeline maintenance worker to drain technician?

Its learning distance is 56.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

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.