Table 1Transition record

railway infrastructure inspectortorail operations manager

A railway infrastructure inspector already meets 38% of what the rail operations manager role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

From railway infrastructure inspector

38%

Overlap1

To rail operations manager

11 Skills carried over

13 Required, not held

63.4 Difficulty2

adjacent 0–30

moderate 30–55

substantial 55–75

career change 75–100

this move, 63.4

This move: 63.4 of 100 · substantial

1 Share of the rail operations manager role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the railway infrastructure inspector 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.

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 rail operations manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a railway infrastructure inspector background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held assess performance of rail operations information skills
already held perform rail operations risk management information skills
already held ensure implementation of subsidence mitigation measures assisting and caring
already held operate railway freight monitoring technologies information skills
already held physical characteristics of railways natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
already held enforce railway safety regulations assisting and caring

All 11 carried skills, including the 7 the rail operations manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 15 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 business, administration and law 4 required

required, not held rail project financing required
required, not held project management required
required, not held rail disruption management required
required, not held railway framework legislation required

02 management skills 4 required

required, not held plan railway incident mitigation measures required
required, not held develop staff required
required, not held manage budgets required
required, not held manage staff required

03 services 2 required

required, not held modern power signalling systems required
required, not held train planning required

04 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held ensure client orientation required

optional, not held work in a rail transport team optional

05 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held maintain computerised records of railway traffic required

optional, not held have computer literacy optional

06 information skills 1 required

required, not held process data from railway control rooms required

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a rail operations manager 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 assess performance of rail operations skill
already held comply with legal regulations skill
already held enforce railway safety regulations skill
already held health and safety measures in transportation knowledge
already held perform rail operations risk management skill
already held physical characteristics of railways knowledge
already held rail infrastructure knowledge
already held design wayside signalling interlockings skill
already held ensure implementation of subsidence mitigation measures skill
already held operate railway freight monitoring technologies skill
already held shunt inbound loads skill

2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held work in a rail transport team optional
optional, not held have computer literacy optional

24 held skills the rail operations manager role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role advise on safety improvements skill
not needed by the target role analyse environmental data skill
not needed by the target role assess railway operations skill
not needed by the target role conduct environmental surveys 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 ensure public safety and security skill
not needed by the target role ensure safe operation of railway during repairs skill
not needed by the target role identify hazards in the workplace skill
not needed by the target role identify preventive actions skill
not needed by the target role liaise with government officials skill
not needed by the target role liaise with rail experts skill
not needed by the target role manage maintenance operations skill
not needed by the target role monitor work site skill
not needed by the target role operate rail-flaw-detection machine skill
not needed by the target role perform inspection analysis skill
not needed by the target role perform rail track inspections skill
not needed by the target role provide advice on breaches of regulation skill
not needed by the target role provide railway technical advice skill
not needed by the target role quality assurance procedures knowledge
not needed by the target role rail construction engineering knowledge
not needed by the target role undertake inspections skill
not needed by the target role write inspection reports skill
not needed by the target role write rail defect records 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.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held rail project financing required
required, not held modern power signalling systems required
required, not held project management required
required, not held rail disruption management required
required, not held railway framework legislation required
required, not held train planning required

Index

Other moves recorded from railway infrastructure inspector

Full index of moves from railway infrastructure inspector

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.