Primary school head teacher to university department head
A primary school head teacher already meets 62% of what the university department head role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
44/ 100
1 How much of what a university department head is expected to do is already part of a primary school head teacher’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 university department head role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A university department head role treats 14 of its required skills as things a primary school head teacher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on teaching methods
- assess employees' capability levels
- assess students
- assessment processes
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
What stands in the way is 8 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 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A university department head role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a primary school head teacher background worth leading with.
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assess employees' capability levels management skills
- already held curriculum standards education
- already held evaluate education programmes information skills
All 25 carried skills, including the 14 the university department head role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 8 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 manage university department required
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn provide education management support required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- still to learn university procedures required
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held human resource management optional
- still to learn advise on lesson plans required
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- still to learn provide information on study programmes required
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a university department head role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage university department practise this
- 02 identify process improvements practise this
- 03 provide education management support 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 25 skills that carry over
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held assess employees' capability levels skill
- already held assess students skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held lead inspections skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held develop organisational policies skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held escort students on a field trip skill
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held represent the organisation skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held human resource management optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
28 held skills the university department head role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer exams skill
- not needed by the target role analyse staff capacity skill
- not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
- not needed by the target role arrange parent teacher meeting skill
- not needed by the target role assess the development of youth skill
- not needed by the target role contract law knowledge
- not needed by the target role education law knowledge
- not needed by the target role instructional strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead board meetings skill
- not needed by the target role learning technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with board members skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational support staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with shareholders skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with children's parents skill
- not needed by the target role maintain students' discipline skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage enrolment skill
- not needed by the target role manage maintenance operations skill
- not needed by the target role manage resources for educational purposes skill
- not needed by the target role manage school budget skill
- not needed by the target role manage space utilisation skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role primary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role trade union regulations knowledge
5 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 university procedures required
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held human resource management optional
Other moves recorded from primary school head teacher
Common questions about this move
Can a primary school head teacher become a university department head?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A primary school head teacher already covers 62% of what a university department head is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 14 of which the university department head role treats as required.
What skills does a primary school head teacher need to become a university department head?
8 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage university department.
How hard is the move from primary school head teacher to university department head?
Its learning distance is 44 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.