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

police detectivetoprison officer

A police detective already meets 40% of what the prison officer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

From police detective
40%
Overlap1
To prison officer
11 Skills carried over
7 Required, not held
56.7 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

40%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

56.7/ 100

1 Share of the prison officer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the police detective 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 prison officer role treats 5 of its required skills as things a police detective already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • ensure compliance with types of weapons
  • identify security threats
  • law enforcement
  • legal use-of-force
  • restrain individuals

What stands in the way is 7 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 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A prison officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a police detective background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held restrain individuals assisting and caring
  • already held criminology social sciences, journalism and information
  • already held legal use-of-force business, administration and law
  • already held write situation reports communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held ensure law application assisting and caring
  • already held practice vigilance assisting and caring

All 11 carried skills, including the 5 the prison officer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 18 missing skills fall into 6 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 assisting and caring 4 required, 4 supplementary
  • required, not held see to the detainees' well-being required
  • required, not held comply with the principles of self-defence required
  • required, not held escort defendants required
  • required, not held patrol areas required
  • optional, not held conduct security screenings optional
  • optional, not held conduct frisk optional
  • optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
  • optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
02 services 2 required
  • required, not held correctional procedures required
  • required, not held illegal substances required
03 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held undertake inspections required
  • optional, not held maintain logbooks optional
04 management skills 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held manage security clearance optional
  • optional, not held contribute to the formulation of correctional procedures optional
  • optional, not held oversee rehabilitation process optional
  • optional, not held propose leisure activities optional
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held surveillance methods optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a prison officer 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 11 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
  • already held identify security threats skill
  • already held law enforcement knowledge
  • already held legal use-of-force knowledge
  • already held restrain individuals skill
  • already held apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
  • already held criminology knowledge
  • already held ensure law application skill
  • already held maintain operational communications skill
  • already held practice vigilance skill
  • already held write situation reports skill
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held conduct security screenings optional
  • optional, not held maintain logbooks optional
  • optional, not held manage security clearance optional
  • optional, not held conduct frisk optional
  • optional, not held contribute to the formulation of correctional procedures optional
  • optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
  • optional, not held oversee rehabilitation process optional
  • optional, not held propose leisure activities optional
  • optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
  • optional, not held surveillance methods optional
  • optional, not held use different communication channels optional
22 held skills the prison officer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse legal evidence skill
  • not needed by the target role apply first response skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct public presentations skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct research interview skill
  • not needed by the target role control crowd skill
  • not needed by the target role criminal law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role detain offenders skill
  • not needed by the target role develop investigation strategy skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure information security skill
  • not needed by the target role examine crime scenes skill
  • not needed by the target role first response knowledge
  • not needed by the target role form operational strategies for law enforcement skill
  • not needed by the target role handle case evidence skill
  • not needed by the target role hear witness accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role investigate forgery cases skill
  • not needed by the target role investigation research methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role lead police investigations skill
  • not needed by the target role legal requirements related to ammunition knowledge
  • not needed by the target role legal research knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform drug investigations skill
  • not needed by the target role present evidence skill
  • not needed by the target role use personal protection equipment skill
3 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 correctional procedures required
  • required, not held illegal substances required
  • optional, not held surveillance methods optional
Index

Other moves recorded from police detective

Full index of moves from police detective

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.