Supply chain assistant to secretary
A supply chain assistant already meets 16% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 18 required skills not yet in the profile.
82/ 100
1 How much of what a secretary 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 secretary role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secretary role treats 4 of its required skills as things a supply chain assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- monitor staff absences
- organise business documents
- perform office routine activities
- use spreadsheets software
What stands in the way is 18 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secretary 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 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
- already held issue sales invoices management skills
All 6 carried skills, including the 4 the secretary role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 37 missing skills fall into 5 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 communicate schedules to the people concerned required
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- still to learn disseminate internal communications required
- still to learn draft corporate emails required
- still to learn maintain internal communication systems required
- still to learn process commissioned instructions required
- optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
- optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
- still to learn handle mail required
- still to learn administer appointments required
- still to learn disseminate messages to people required
- still to learn manage personnel agenda required
- still to learn organise facilities for office personnel required
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- still to learn manage digital documents required
- still to learn use microsoft office required
- still to learn use word processing software required
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- still to learn file documents required
- still to learn fill out forms required
- still to learn keep task records required
- still to learn company policies required
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secretary role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 communicate schedules to the people concerned practise this
- 02 company policies study this
- 03 file documents 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held monitor staff absences skill
- already held organise business documents skill
- already held perform office routine activities skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held issue sales invoices skill
- already held use office systems skill
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
28 held skills the secretary 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 perform business research skill
- 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
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 company policies required
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
Common questions about this move
Can a supply chain assistant become a secretary?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A supply chain assistant already covers 16% of what a secretary is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 4 of which the secretary role treats as required.
What skills does a supply chain assistant need to become a secretary?
18 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is communicate schedules to the people concerned.
How hard is the move from supply chain assistant to secretary?
Its learning distance is 82 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.