Resource manager to forecast manager
A resource manager already meets 65% of what the forecast manager role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.5/ 100
1 How much of what a forecast manager is expected to do is already part of a resource 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 forecast manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A forecast manager role treats 19 of its required skills as things a resource manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse logistic changes
- analyse supply chain strategies
- analyse supply chain trends
- assess supplier risks
- corporate social responsibility
- estimate costs of required supplies
What stands in the way is 5 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 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A forecast manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a resource manager background worth leading with.
- already held calculate purchasing levels of raw materials information skills
- already held estimate costs of required supplies information skills
- already held analyse logistic changes information skills
- already held supply chain principles business, administration and law
- already held supplier management business, administration and law
- already held manage inventory management skills
All 20 carried skills, including the 19 the forecast manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 7 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 analyse economic trends required
- still to learn analyse market financial trends required
- still to learn forecast future levels of business required
- still to learn forecast production quantities required
- optional, not held analyse logistic needs optional
- optional, not held monitor ingredient storage optional
- optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
- optional, not held forecast sales over periods of time optional
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
- still to learn forecast dividend trends required
- optional, not held assist in planning production scheduling optional
- optional, not held forecast products' demand optional
- optional, not held manage logistics optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held manage standard enterprise resource planning system optional
- optional, not held use sales forecasting softwares optional
- optional, not held coordinate purchasing activities optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a forecast manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse economic trends practise this
- 02 analyse market financial trends practise this
- 03 forecast dividend trends 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 20 skills that carry over
- already held analyse logistic changes skill
- already held analyse supply chain strategies skill
- already held analyse supply chain trends skill
- already held assess supplier risks skill
- already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
- already held estimate costs of required supplies skill
- already held financial forecasting knowledge
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held identify suppliers skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held maintain relationship with customers skill
- already held maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- already held manage inventory skill
- already held manage supplies skill
- already held order supplies skill
- already held strive for company growth skill
- already held supplier management knowledge
- already held supply chain management knowledge
- already held supply chain principles knowledge
- already held calculate purchasing levels of raw materials skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held economics optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse logistic needs optional
- optional, not held coordinate purchasing activities optional
- optional, not held manage standard enterprise resource planning system optional
- optional, not held monitor ingredient storage optional
- optional, not held assist in planning production scheduling optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
- optional, not held forecast products' demand optional
- optional, not held forecast sales over periods of time optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held manage logistics optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
- optional, not held study sales levels of products optional
- optional, not held use sales forecasting softwares optional
23 held skills the forecast manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accurately estimate work hours skill
- not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
- not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
- not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role business strategy concepts knowledge
- not needed by the target role conflict management knowledge
- not needed by the target role control financial resources skill
- not needed by the target role ensure cross-department cooperation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure equipment availability skill
- not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
- not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
- not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
- not needed by the target role human resource management knowledge
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage human resources skill
- not needed by the target role manage sub-contract labour skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
- not needed by the target role programme work according to incoming orders skill
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
4 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 consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held international business optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a resource manager become a forecast manager?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A resource manager already covers 65% of what a forecast manager is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 19 of which the forecast manager role treats as required.
What skills does a resource manager need to become a forecast manager?
5 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is analyse economic trends.
How hard is the move from resource manager to forecast manager?
Its learning distance is 39.5 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.