Shipwright to 3D printing technician
A shipwright already meets 60% of what the 3D printing technician role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
42.9/ 100
1 How much of what a 3D printing technician is expected to do is already part of a shipwright’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 3D printing technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A 3D printing technician role treats 14 of its required skills as things a shipwright already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- 3D modelling
- 3D printing process
- CAD software
- ICT software specifications
- adjust engineering designs
- maintenance of printing machines
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 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A 3D printing technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a shipwright background worth leading with.
- already held determine suitability of materials communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held operate printing machinery working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held 3D printing process arts and humanities
- already held printing on large scale machines arts and humanities
- already held printing materials arts and humanities
- already held operate 3D computer graphics software communication, collaboration and creativity
All 18 carried skills, including the 14 the 3D printing technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 11 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 identify customer's needs required
- still to learn advise client on technical possibilities required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn draft design specifications required
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
- still to learn digitization required
- optional, not held blueprints optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held technical drawings optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held product comprehension optional
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a 3D printing technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 identify customer's needs practise this
- 02 advise client on technical possibilities practise this
- 03 create solutions to problems 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held 3D printing process knowledge
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held ICT software specifications knowledge
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held maintenance operations knowledge
- already held operate 3D computer graphics software skill
- already held operate printing machinery skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held printing on large scale machines knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held determine suitability of materials skill
- already held mechanics knowledge
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held clean equipment optional
- optional, not held prosthetic devices optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held create technical plans optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held product comprehension optional
- optional, not held prosthetic devices optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held blueprints optional
- optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
- optional, not held clean equipment optional
- optional, not held create technical plans optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held technical drawings optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
55 held skills the 3D printing technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
- not needed by the target role align components skill
- not needed by the target role apply health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role apply preliminary treatment to workpieces skill
- not needed by the target role assemble mechatronic units skill
- not needed by the target role assemble sensors skill
- not needed by the target role automation technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role construct moulds skill
- not needed by the target role control engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role cut metal products skill
- not needed by the target role cutting technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role defense system knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure vessel compliance with regulations skill
- not needed by the target role fasten components skill
- not needed by the target role fibreglass laminating knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial paint knowledge
- not needed by the target role install automation components skill
- not needed by the target role install mechatronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role lead a team skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain robotic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate wood skill
- not needed by the target role material mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics of vessels knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechatronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role metal forming technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate drilling equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate handheld riveting equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate lifting equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate precision measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate welding equipment skill
- not needed by the target role physical parts of the vessel knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare pieces for joining skill
- not needed by the target role program a CNC controller skill
- not needed by the target role read engineering drawings skill
- not needed by the target role read standard blueprints skill
- not needed by the target role rivet types knowledge
- not needed by the target role robotic components knowledge
15 further entries not listed here
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn digitization required
- optional, not held product comprehension optional
- optional, not held prosthetic devices optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held blueprints optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held technical drawings optional
Common questions about this move
Can a shipwright become a 3D printing technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A shipwright already covers 60% of what a 3D printing technician is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 14 of which the 3D printing technician role treats as required.
What skills does a shipwright need to become a 3D printing technician?
5 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is identify customer's needs.
How hard is the move from shipwright to 3D printing technician?
Its learning distance is 42.9 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.