Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

recreational therapisttoanimal assisted therapist

A recreational therapist already meets 60% of what the animal assisted therapist role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

From recreational therapist
60%
Overlap1
To animal assisted therapist
19 Skills carried over
5 Required, not held
42.4 Difficulty2
adjacent 0–30
moderate 30–55
substantial 55–75
career change 75–100
this move, 42.4

This move: 42.4 of 100 · moderate

1 Share of the animal assisted therapist role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the recreational therapist 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A animal assisted therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a recreational therapist background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held animal therapy agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
  • already held assess the patient's therapeutic needs information skills
  • already held handle patient trauma assisting and caring
  • already held work with healthcare users' social network communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held behavioural therapy social sciences, journalism and information
  • already held human psychological development social sciences, journalism and information

All 19 carried skills, including the 6 the animal assisted therapist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 11 missing skills fall into 7 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 handling and moving 2 required
  • required, not held instruct animals for therapy purposes required
  • required, not held select therapy animals required
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held interact with healthcare users required
  • optional, not held use communication techniques optional
03 health and welfare 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held assistive instruments required
  • optional, not held palliative care optional
04 management skills 1 required
  • required, not held recruit animal handlers required
05 social sciences, journalism and information 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held performance diagnosis optional
  • optional, not held evaluation of psychological performance optional
06 agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held animal behaviour optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a animal assisted therapist 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 19 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held animal therapy knowledge
  • already held assess the patient's therapeutic needs skill
  • already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
  • already held listen actively skill
  • already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
  • already held provide health education skill
  • already held apply organisational techniques skill
  • already held behavioural therapy knowledge
  • already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
  • already held control animal movement skill
  • already held deal with emergency care situations skill
  • already held handle patient trauma skill
  • already held human psychological development knowledge
  • already held refer healthcare users skill
  • already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
  • already held sociology knowledge
  • already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
  • already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
  • already held work with healthcare users' social network skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held promote animal welfare optional
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held performance diagnosis optional
  • optional, not held animal behaviour optional
  • optional, not held evaluation of psychological performance optional
  • optional, not held palliative care optional
  • optional, not held promote animal welfare optional
  • optional, not held use communication techniques optional
77 held skills the animal assisted therapist role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
  • not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
  • not needed by the target role anthropology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role applied music therapy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply art therapy interventions skill
  • not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
  • not needed by the target role apply music therapy assessment methods skill
  • not needed by the target role apply music therapy methods skill
  • not needed by the target role apply music therapy treatment methods skill
  • not needed by the target role apply psychoanalysis skill
  • not needed by the target role apply risk management in sports skill
  • not needed by the target role assess art therapy sessions skill
  • not needed by the target role assess music therapy sessions skill
  • not needed by the target role autism knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cognitive behavioural therapy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cognitive psychology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
  • not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
  • not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
  • not needed by the target role dance therapy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop a repertoire for music therapy sessions skill
  • not needed by the target role diagnose mental disorders skill
  • not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role eating disorders knowledge
  • not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
  • not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
  • not needed by the target role encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure safety of healthcare users skill
  • not needed by the target role fine arts knowledge
  • not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify patients' behaviours skill
  • not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
  • not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
  • not needed by the target role medical studies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role music therapy processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role neurology knowledge

37 further entries not listed here

5 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 assistive instruments required
  • optional, not held performance diagnosis optional
  • optional, not held animal behaviour optional
  • optional, not held evaluation of psychological performance optional
  • optional, not held palliative care optional
Index
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.