Supply chain assistant to administrative assistant
A supply chain assistant already meets 21% of what the administrative assistant role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.1/ 100
1 How much of what an administrative assistant is expected to do is already part of a supply chain assistant’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 administrative assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An administrative assistant role treats 5 of its required skills as things a supply chain assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- organise business documents
- perform business research
- perform office routine activities
- use office systems
- use spreadsheets software
What stands in the way is 15 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An administrative assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a supply chain assistant background worth leading with.
- already held monitor staff absences information skills
- already held perform business research information skills
- already held organise business documents management skills
- already held perform office routine activities management skills
- already held use office systems management skills
- already held use spreadsheets software working with computers
All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the administrative assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 34 missing skills fall into 8 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 file documents required
- still to learn ensure proper document management required
- still to learn fill out forms required
- still to learn keep task records required
- still to learn maintain statutory books required
- optional, not held maintain inventory of office supplies optional
- still to learn handle mail required
- still to learn disseminate messages to people required
- still to learn organise facilities for office personnel required
- still to learn plan schedule required
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held fix meetings optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held manage personnel agenda optional
- still to learn disseminate general corporate information required
- still to learn disseminate internal communications required
- still to learn draft corporate emails required
- optional, not held create import-export commercial documentation optional
- optional, not held liaise with managers optional
- optional, not held maintain internal communication systems optional
- optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held process commissioned instructions optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- still to learn manage digital documents required
- still to learn use microsoft office required
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- still to learn company policies required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held respect data protection principles optional
- optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an administrative assistant 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 · The rest of the record
All 7 skills that carry over
- already held organise business documents skill
- already held perform business research skill
- already held perform office routine activities skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held issue sales invoices skill
- already held monitor staff absences skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
- optional, not held business communication optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held respect data protection principles optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held business communication optional
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held create import-export commercial documentation optional
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held fix meetings optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held liaise with managers optional
- optional, not held maintain internal communication systems optional
- optional, not held maintain inventory of office supplies optional
- optional, not held manage personnel agenda optional
- optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held process commissioned instructions optional
- optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
27 held skills the administrative assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse supply chain strategies skill
- not needed by the target role assist in planning production scheduling skill
- not needed by the target role budget for financial needs skill
- not needed by the target role carry out inventory control accuracy skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate purchasing activities skill
- not needed by the target role direct logistical functions skill
- not needed by the target role forecast production quantities skill
- not needed by the target role handle returns skill
- not needed by the target role identify key processes of traceability systems skill
- not needed by the target role identify software for warehouse management skill
- not needed by the target role international business knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret business information skill
- not needed by the target role inventory management rules knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role monitor manufacturing quality standards skill
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role operations department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare purchasing reportings skill
- not needed by the target role provide technical documentation skill
- not needed by the target role purchase supplies skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role receive shipment packaging information skill
- not needed by the target role sales department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role supply chain principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role support managers skill
- not needed by the target role use production planning software skill
- not needed by the target role use sales forecasting softwares 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.
- still to learn company policies required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held business communication optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
Common questions about this move
Can a supply chain assistant become an administrative assistant?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A supply chain assistant already covers 21% of what an administrative assistant is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the administrative assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a supply chain assistant need to become an administrative assistant?
15 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is company policies.
How hard is the move from supply chain assistant to administrative assistant?
Its learning distance is 77.1 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.