RecordMove

Rail maintenance technician to rigger

A rail maintenance technician already meets 31% of what the rigger role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From rail maintenance technician

Distant match

To rigger

9 You already bring

11 Still to learn

29 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

66.5/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

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

Why

Why this move works

A rigger role treats 5 of its required skills as things a rail maintenance technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

follow health and safety procedures in construction
inspect construction supplies
use safety equipment in construction
work ergonomically
work in a construction team

What stands in the way is 11 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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A rigger role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a rail maintenance technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held process incoming construction supplies information skills
already held inspect construction supplies information skills
already held work in a construction team communication, collaboration and creativity
already held use safety equipment in construction assisting and caring
already held follow health and safety procedures in construction assisting and caring
already held keep personal administration information skills

All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the rigger role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 20 missing skills fall into 9 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 information skills 3 required

still to learn inspect construction sites required
still to learn interpret 2D plans required
still to learn interpret 3D plans required

02 services 2 required

still to learn crane load charts required
still to learn rigging terminology required

03 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required, 4 supplementary

still to learn secure heavy construction equipment required

optional, not held guide operation of heavy construction equipment optional
optional, not held operate mobile crane optional
optional, not held operate tower crane optional
optional, not held perform minor repairs to equipment optional

04 constructing 1 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn keep heavy construction equipment in good condition required

optional, not held set up temporary construction site infrastructure optional
optional, not held set up tower crane optional

05 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn follow safety procedures when working at heights required

optional, not held test soil load bearing capacity optional

06 handling and moving 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn rig loads required

optional, not held transport construction supplies optional

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a rigger 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 9 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held follow health and safety procedures in construction skill
already held inspect construction supplies skill
already held use safety equipment in construction skill
already held work ergonomically skill
already held work in a construction team skill
already held electricity knowledge
already held keep personal administration skill
already held keep records of work progress skill
already held process incoming construction supplies skill

The 3 learning areas not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required

still to learn react to events in time-critical environments required

08 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required

still to learn mechanical tools required

09 working with computers 1 supplementary

optional, not held use remote control equipment optional

9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held guide operation of heavy construction equipment optional
optional, not held operate mobile crane optional
optional, not held set up temporary construction site infrastructure optional
optional, not held test soil load bearing capacity optional
optional, not held transport construction supplies optional
optional, not held operate tower crane optional
optional, not held perform minor repairs to equipment optional
optional, not held set up tower crane optional
optional, not held use remote control equipment optional

33 held skills the rigger role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role advise on railway infrastructure repairs skill
not needed by the target role characteristics of wheel rail interface knowledge
not needed by the target role check for defects in railcars skill
not needed by the target role construction product regulation knowledge
not needed by the target role design wayside signalling interlockings skill
not needed by the target role detect flaws in rails skill
not needed by the target role detect rail track malfunctions skill
not needed by the target role electrical systems used in transportation knowledge
not needed by the target role electronics principles knowledge
not needed by the target role ensure implementation of subsidence mitigation measures skill
not needed by the target role hot wheel detection system knowledge
not needed by the target role hunting truck detector knowledge
not needed by the target role inspect rail flaws skill
not needed by the target role inspect railways visually skill
not needed by the target role interpret graphical recordings of rail-flaw-detection machine skill
not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
not needed by the target role liaise with rail experts skill
not needed by the target role maintain records of maintenance interventions skill
not needed by the target role maintain sensor equipment skill
not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
not needed by the target role mechanics of trains knowledge
not needed by the target role modern power signalling systems knowledge
not needed by the target role monitor stationary rail sensors skill
not needed by the target role railway framework legislation knowledge
not needed by the target role record test data skill
not needed by the target role sensors knowledge
not needed by the target role test sensors skill
not needed by the target role test the rail-flaw-detection machine skill
not needed by the target role use tribometer skill
not needed by the target role weigh in motion system knowledge
not needed by the target role wheel impact load detector knowledge
not needed by the target role work trains knowledge
not needed by the target role write rail defect records 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 pick up Tier

still to learn crane load charts required
still to learn rigging terminology required
still to learn mechanical tools required

Index

Other moves recorded from rail maintenance technician

Full index of moves from rail maintenance technician

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a rail maintenance technician become a rigger?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A rail maintenance technician already covers 31% of what a rigger is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the rigger role treats as required.

What skills does a rail maintenance technician need to become a rigger?

11 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is crane load charts.

How hard is the move from rail maintenance technician to rigger?

Its learning distance is 66.5 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.