RecordMove

Railway passenger service agent to call centre agent

A railway passenger service agent already meets 20% of what the call centre agent role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

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

From railway passenger service agent

Distant match

To call centre agent

5 You already bring

13 Still to learn

32 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance A rebuild

76/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a call centre agent is expected to do is already part of a railway passenger service agent’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 call centre agent role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A call centre agent role treats 4 of its required skills as things a railway passenger service agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

guarantee customer satisfaction
have computer literacy
listen actively
speak different languages

What stands in the way is 13 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 5 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A call centre agent role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a railway passenger service agent background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held think proactively communication, collaboration and creativity
already held guarantee customer satisfaction assisting and caring
already held listen actively communication, collaboration and creativity
already held speak different languages communication, collaboration and creativity
already held have computer literacy working with computers

All 5 carried skills, including the 4 the call centre agent role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 27 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 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 3 supplementary

still to learn adapt to changing situations required
still to learn communicate by telephone required
still to learn create solutions to problems required
still to learn present reports required

optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
optional, not held handle helpdesk problems optional
optional, not held perform escalation procedure optional

02 information skills 3 required

still to learn handle tasks independently required
still to learn keep task records required
still to learn process data required

03 business, administration and law 2 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn characteristics of services required
still to learn credit card payments required

optional, not held e-procurement optional

04 management skills 2 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn tolerate stress required
still to learn perform multiple tasks at the same time required

optional, not held prioritise requests optional

05 working with computers 1 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn use customer relationship management software required

optional, not held perform data analysis optional
optional, not held provide ICT support optional

06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required

still to learn characteristics of products required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a call centre agent 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 5 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
already held have computer literacy skill
already held listen actively skill
already held speak different languages skill
already held think proactively skill

The 3 learning areas not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 assisting and caring 3 supplementary

optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
optional, not held answer incoming calls optional
optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional

08 generic programmes and qualifications 2 supplementary

optional, not held communication principles optional
optional, not held teamwork principles optional

09 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 supplementary

optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
optional, not held knowledge base optional

14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
optional, not held e-procurement optional
optional, not held answer incoming calls optional
optional, not held communication principles optional
optional, not held educate on data confidentiality optional
optional, not held handle helpdesk problems optional
optional, not held knowledge base optional
optional, not held perform data analysis optional
optional, not held perform escalation procedure optional
optional, not held prioritise requests optional
optional, not held provide ICT support optional
optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional
optional, not held teamwork principles optional

25 held skills the call centre agent role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role act reliably skill
not needed by the target role advise customers on the product range of railway companies skill
not needed by the target role assist passengers skill
not needed by the target role collect customer data skill
not needed by the target role communicate with customer service department skill
not needed by the target role deliver a sales pitch skill
not needed by the target role deliver outstanding service skill
not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
not needed by the target role implement sales strategies skill
not needed by the target role interpret customer non-verbal communication skill
not needed by the target role maintain updated professional knowledge skill
not needed by the target role manage the customer experience skill
not needed by the target role meet picking standards skill
not needed by the target role perform services in a flexible manner skill
not needed by the target role persuade clients with alternatives skill
not needed by the target role provide high quality customer service skill
not needed by the target role provide information on train routes skill
not needed by the target role provide information to passengers skill
not needed by the target role react calmly in stressful situations skill
not needed by the target role relay messages through radio and telephone systems skill
not needed by the target role represent the company skill
not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
not needed by the target role work in a rail transport team skill
not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill

8 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 characteristics of products required
still to learn characteristics of services required
still to learn credit card payments required
optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
optional, not held e-procurement optional
optional, not held communication principles optional
optional, not held knowledge base optional
optional, not held teamwork principles optional

Index

Other moves recorded from railway passenger service agent

Full index of moves from railway passenger service agent

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a railway passenger service agent become a call centre agent?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A railway passenger service agent already covers 20% of what a call centre agent is expected to do: 5 skills carry over, 4 of which the call centre agent role treats as required.

What skills does a railway passenger service agent need to become a call centre agent?

13 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is characteristics of products.

How hard is the move from railway passenger service agent to call centre agent?

Its learning distance is 76 out of 100, which is the career change 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.