Prison officer to infantry soldier
A prison officer already meets 39% of what the infantry soldier role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.2/ 100
1 How much of what an infantry soldier is expected to do is already part of a prison officer’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 infantry soldier role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An infantry soldier role treats 5 of its required skills as things a prison officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure compliance with types of weapons
- handle surveillance equipment
- identify security threats
- surveillance methods
- use different communication channels
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 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An infantry soldier role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a prison officer background worth leading with.
- already held restrain individuals assisting and caring
- already held legal use-of-force business, administration and law
- already held patrol areas assisting and caring
- already held practice vigilance assisting and caring
- already held surveillance methods engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held law enforcement services
All 12 carried skills, including the 5 the infantry soldier role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 ensure public safety and security required
- still to learn perform military operations required
- still to learn provide humanitarian aid required
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held detain offenders optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- still to learn military combat techniques required
- still to learn military drill required
- optional, not held military code optional
- optional, not held military weaponry optional
- still to learn execute working instructions required
- still to learn camouflage required
- optional, not held assist in ship maintenance optional
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
- optional, not held perform covert investigations optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an infantry soldier role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 camouflage study this
- 02 ensure public safety and security practise this
- 03 execute working instructions 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held handle surveillance equipment skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held surveillance methods knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held law enforcement knowledge
- already held legal use-of-force knowledge
- already held patrol areas skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held respond to enquiries skill
- already held restrain individuals skill
- already held undertake inspections skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held operate armoured fighting vehicles optional
- optional, not held operate radio equipment optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held perform covert investigations optional
- optional, not held assist in ship maintenance optional
- optional, not held control crowd optional
- optional, not held detain offenders optional
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held military code optional
- optional, not held military weaponry optional
- optional, not held operate armoured fighting vehicles optional
- optional, not held operate radio equipment optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
17 held skills the infantry soldier role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role comply with the principles of self-defence skill
- not needed by the target role conduct frisk skill
- not needed by the target role conduct security screenings skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the formulation of correctional procedures skill
- not needed by the target role correctional procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role criminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure law application skill
- not needed by the target role escort defendants skill
- not needed by the target role illegal substances knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain logbooks skill
- not needed by the target role maintain operational communications skill
- not needed by the target role manage security clearance skill
- not needed by the target role oversee rehabilitation process skill
- not needed by the target role propose leisure activities skill
- not needed by the target role see to the detainees' well-being skill
- not needed by the target role write situation reports skill
6 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 camouflage required
- still to learn military combat techniques required
- still to learn military drill required
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held military code optional
- optional, not held military weaponry optional
Common questions about this move
Can a prison officer become an infantry soldier?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A prison officer already covers 39% of what an infantry soldier is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 5 of which the infantry soldier role treats as required.
What skills does a prison officer need to become an infantry soldier?
7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is camouflage.
How hard is the move from prison officer to infantry soldier?
Its learning distance is 57.2 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.