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

sommeliertohead sommelier

A sommelier already meets 59% of what the head sommelier role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

From sommelier
59%
Overlap1
To head sommelier
16 Skills carried over
10 Required, not held
44.4 Difficulty2
adjacent 0–30
moderate 30–55
substantial 55–75
career change 75–100
this move, 44.4

This move: 44.4 of 100 · moderate

1 Share of the head sommelier role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the sommelier 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A head sommelier role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a sommelier background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held check wine quality information skills
  • already held select glassware for serving assisting and caring
  • already held recommend wines communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held compile wine lists communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held prepare alcoholic beverages assisting and caring
  • already held wine characteristics engineering, manufacturing and construction

All 16 carried skills, including the 15 the head sommelier role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 12 missing skills fall into 6 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 management skills 4 required
  • required, not held manage medium term objectives required
  • required, not held manage stock rotation required
  • required, not held plan shifts of employees required
  • required, not held recruit employees required
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required
  • required, not held procure hospitality products required
  • required, not held coach employees required
03 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 required
  • required, not held wine related sciences required
  • required, not held types of wine required
04 handling and moving 1 required
  • required, not held ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment required
05 information skills 1 required
  • required, not held monitor work for special events required
06 assisting and caring 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held prepare tableware optional
  • optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a head sommelier 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 16 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assist customers skill
  • already held check wine quality skill
  • already held compile wine lists skill
  • already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
  • already held maintain customer service skill
  • already held order supplies skill
  • already held organise wine cellar skill
  • already held prepare alcoholic beverages skill
  • already held recommend wines skill
  • already held select glassware for serving skill
  • already held serve wines skill
  • already held sparkling wines knowledge
  • already held train employees skill
  • already held upsell products skill
  • already held wine characteristics knowledge
  • already held apply foreign languages in hospitality skill
2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held prepare tableware optional
  • optional, not held handle surveillance equipment optional
1 held skills the head sommelier role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role decant wines skill
2 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 wine related sciences required
  • required, not held types of wine required
Index

Other moves recorded from sommelier

Full index of moves from sommelier

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.