Product development manager to foundry manager
A product development manager already meets 69% of what the foundry manager role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
30.2/ 100
1 How much of what a foundry manager is expected to do is already part of a product development manager’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 foundry manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A foundry manager role treats 8 of its required skills as things a product development manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- cost management
- engineering processes
- ensure compliance with environmental legislation
- follow company standards
- improve business processes
- legal requirements of ICT products
What stands in the way is 3 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 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A foundry manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a product development manager background worth leading with.
- already held design metal components communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held optimise financial performance management skills
- already held improve business processes management skills
- already held legal requirements of ICT products business, administration and law
- already held identify market niches management skills
- already held innovation processes business, administration and law
All 18 carried skills, including the 8 the foundry manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 9 missing skills fall into 4 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 forecast organisational risks required
- still to learn manage commercial risks required
- still to learn deal with pressure from unexpected circumstances required
- optional, not held ferrous metal processing optional
- optional, not held non-ferrous metal processing optional
- optional, not held precious metals optional
- optional, not held follow manufacturing work schedule optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a foundry manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 deal with pressure from unexpected circumstances practise this
- 02 forecast organisational risks practise this
- 03 manage commercial risks 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held cost management knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held improve business processes skill
- already held legal requirements of ICT products knowledge
- already held optimise financial performance skill
- already held types of metal manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held design metal components skill
- already held identify market niches skill
- already held innovation processes knowledge
- already held maintain relationship with customers skill
- already held measure customer feedback skill
- already held perform market research skill
- already held physics knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ferrous metal processing optional
- optional, not held follow manufacturing work schedule optional
- optional, not held non-ferrous metal processing optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held precious metals optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
38 held skills the foundry manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
- not needed by the target role analyse cultural trends skill
- not needed by the target role analyse data about clients skill
- not needed by the target role analyse economic trends skill
- not needed by the target role apply systemic design thinking skill
- not needed by the target role calculate design costs skill
- not needed by the target role calculate production costs skill
- not needed by the target role combine business technology with user experience skill
- not needed by the target role conduct metallurgical structural analysis skill
- not needed by the target role consult with technical staff skill
- not needed by the target role create technical plans skill
- not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
- not needed by the target role design customer experiences skill
- not needed by the target role design management knowledge
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role develop new products skill
- not needed by the target role develop product design skill
- not needed by the target role develop promotional tools skill
- not needed by the target role draw conclusions from market research results skill
- not needed by the target role ensure products meet regulatory requirements skill
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead a team skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with industry experts skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage product testing skill
- not needed by the target role manage the customer experience skill
- not needed by the target role market research knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing mix knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform product testing skill
- not needed by the target role plan product management skill
- not needed by the target role prepare market research reports skill
- not needed by the target role product life-cycle knowledge
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
- not needed by the target role work in metal manufacture teams 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.
- optional, not held ferrous metal processing optional
- optional, not held non-ferrous metal processing optional
- optional, not held precious metals optional
Common questions about this move
Can a product development manager become a foundry manager?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A product development manager already covers 69% of what a foundry manager is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 8 of which the foundry manager role treats as required.
What skills does a product development manager need to become a foundry manager?
3 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is deal with pressure from unexpected circumstances.
How hard is the move from product development manager to foundry manager?
Its learning distance is 30.2 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.