Sommelier to waiter/waitress
A sommelier already meets 19% of what the waiter/waitress role asks for. The move turns on 24 required skills not yet in the profile.
84.2/ 100
1 How much of what a waiter/waitress is expected to do is already part of a sommelier’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 waiter/waitress role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A waiter/waitress role treats 5 of its required skills as things a sommelier already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist customers
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- maintain customer service
- prepare alcoholic beverages
- serve wines
What stands in the way is 24 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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A waiter/waitress 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.
- already held decant wines assisting and caring
- already held recommend wines communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepare alcoholic beverages assisting and caring
- already held serve wines assisting and caring
- already held sparkling wines engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held apply foreign languages in hospitality communication, collaboration and creativity
All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the waiter/waitress role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 34 missing skills fall into 9 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 prepare the restaurant for service required
- still to learn arrange tables required
- still to learn assist VIP guests required
- still to learn prepare hot drinks required
- still to learn serve beverages required
- still to learn serve food in table service required
- still to learn supervise food quality required
- still to learn welcome restaurant guests required
- optional, not held prepare service trolleys optional
- optional, not held prepare flambeed dishes optional
- optional, not held detect drug abuse optional
- still to learn advise guests on menus for special events required
- still to learn identify customer's needs required
- still to learn maintain relationship with customers required
- still to learn present menus required
- still to learn take food and beverage orders from customers required
- still to learn work in a hospitality team required
- still to learn assist clients with special needs required
- optional, not held educate customers on coffee varieties optional
- optional, not held educate customers on tea varieties optional
- still to learn check dining room cleanliness required
- still to learn measure customer feedback required
- optional, not held maintain incident reporting records optional
- optional, not held process reservations optional
- still to learn attend to detail regarding food and beverages required
- still to learn clean surfaces required
- optional, not held use food cutting tools optional
- still to learn maintain personal hygiene standards required
- still to learn process payments required
- still to learn food and beverages on the menu required
- optional, not held local area tourism industry optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a waiter/waitress role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 food and beverages on the menu study this
- 02 prepare the restaurant for service practise this
- 03 advise guests on menus for special events 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 9 skills that carry over
- already held assist customers skill
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held prepare alcoholic beverages skill
- already held serve wines skill
- already held apply foreign languages in hospitality skill
- already held decant wines skill
- already held recommend wines skill
- already held sparkling wines knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn alcoholic beverage products required
- still to learn dietary regimes required
- optional, not held laws regulating serving alcoholic drinks optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held laws regulating serving alcoholic drinks optional
- optional, not held prepare service trolleys optional
- optional, not held educate customers on coffee varieties optional
- optional, not held educate customers on tea varieties optional
- optional, not held local area tourism industry optional
- optional, not held prepare flambeed dishes optional
- optional, not held use food cutting tools optional
- optional, not held detect drug abuse optional
- optional, not held maintain incident reporting records optional
- optional, not held process reservations optional
8 held skills the waiter/waitress role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role check wine quality skill
- not needed by the target role compile wine lists skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role organise wine cellar skill
- not needed by the target role select glassware for serving skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role upsell products skill
- not needed by the target role wine characteristics knowledge
5 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 food and beverages on the menu required
- still to learn alcoholic beverage products required
- still to learn dietary regimes required
- optional, not held laws regulating serving alcoholic drinks optional
- optional, not held local area tourism industry optional
Common questions about this move
Can a sommelier become a waiter/waitress?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A sommelier already covers 19% of what a waiter/waitress is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the waiter/waitress role treats as required.
What skills does a sommelier need to become a waiter/waitress?
24 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is food and beverages on the menu.
How hard is the move from sommelier to waiter/waitress?
Its learning distance is 84.2 out of 100, which is the career change 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.