Secretary of state to city councillor
A secretary of state already meets 57% of what the city councillor role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
40.6/ 100
1 How much of what a city councillor is expected to do is already part of a secretary of state’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 city councillor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A city councillor role treats 7 of its required skills as things a secretary of state already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on legislative acts
- analyse legislation
- good governance
- government policy implementation
- perform political negotiation
- public administration
What stands in the way is 4 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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A city councillor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a secretary of state background worth leading with.
- already held write meeting reports communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse legislation information skills
- already held perform political negotiation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held good governance social sciences, journalism and information
- already held public administration social sciences, journalism and information
- already held public finance business, administration and law
All 14 carried skills, including the 7 the city councillor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 6 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 maintain relations with local representatives required
- still to learn build community relations required
- still to learn maintain relationships with government agencies required
- optional, not held promote political campaign optional
- optional, not held analyse community needs optional
- still to learn observe confidentiality required
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held election law optional
- optional, not held public law optional
- optional, not held inspect government incomes optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a city councillor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 maintain relations with local representatives practise this
- 02 build community relations practise this
- 03 maintain relationships with government agencies 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held advise on legislative acts skill
- already held analyse legislation skill
- already held good governance knowledge
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held perform political negotiation skill
- already held public administration knowledge
- already held write meeting reports skill
- already held budgetary principles knowledge
- already held manage administrative systems skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held project management principles knowledge
- already held public finance knowledge
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held inspect government incomes optional
- optional, not held promote political campaign optional
- optional, not held analyse community needs optional
- optional, not held bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held election law optional
- optional, not held inspect government expenditures optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
- optional, not held public law optional
15 held skills the city councillor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise legislators skill
- not needed by the target role advise on public finance skill
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role audit techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct financial audits skill
- not needed by the target role constitutional law knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure cross-department cooperation skill
- not needed by the target role government representation knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement strategic management skill
- not needed by the target role legislation procedure knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with local authorities skill
- not needed by the target role prepare legislation proposition skill
- not needed by the target role present legislation proposition skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
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 bookkeeping regulations optional
- optional, not held election law optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
- optional, not held public law optional
Other moves recorded from secretary of state
Common questions about this move
Can a secretary of state become a city councillor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A secretary of state already covers 57% of what a city councillor is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 7 of which the city councillor role treats as required.
What skills does a secretary of state need to become a city councillor?
4 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is maintain relations with local representatives.
How hard is the move from secretary of state to city councillor?
Its learning distance is 40.6 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.