Survival instructor to early years teacher
A survival instructor already meets 36% of what the early years teacher role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
68.9/ 100
1 How much of what an early years teacher is expected to do is already part of a survival instructor’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 early years teacher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An early years teacher role treats 12 of its required skills as things a survival instructor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt teaching to student's capabilities
- apply teaching strategies
- assess students
- assist students with equipment
- demonstrate when teaching
- encourage students to acknowledge their achievements
What stands in the way is 17 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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An early years teacher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a survival instructor background worth leading with.
- already held consult students on learning content communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held encourage students to acknowledge their achievements management skills
- already held manage student relationships communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held adapt teaching to student's capabilities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held teamwork principles generic programmes and qualifications
- already held assist students with equipment assisting and caring
All 14 carried skills, including the 12 the early years teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 7 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 assist children in developing personal skills required
- still to learn handle children's problems required
- still to learn implement care programmes for children required
- still to learn support children's wellbeing required
- optional, not held provide after school care optional
- optional, not held attend to children's basic physical needs optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held perform playground surveillance optional
- still to learn teach kindergarten class content required
- still to learn apply intercultural teaching strategies required
- still to learn assist students in their learning required
- still to learn support the positiveness of youths required
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- still to learn instructional strategies required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- still to learn kindergarten school procedures required
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- optional, not held assessment processes optional
- optional, not held language teaching methods optional
- optional, not held special needs education optional
- still to learn assess the development of youth required
- still to learn maintain students' discipline required
- still to learn perform classroom management required
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held organise creative performance optional
- still to learn social development required
- optional, not held common children's diseases optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- still to learn monitor children's physical development required
- optional, not held use learning strategies optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an early years teacher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assess the development of youth practise this
- 02 instructional strategies study this
- 03 social development study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held adapt teaching to student's capabilities skill
- already held apply teaching strategies skill
- already held assess students skill
- already held assist students with equipment skill
- already held demonstrate when teaching skill
- already held encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- already held facilitate teamwork between students skill
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held manage student relationships skill
- already held prepare lesson content skill
- already held teamwork principles knowledge
- already held consult students on learning content skill
- already held provide lesson materials skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held workplace sanitation optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held provide after school care optional
- optional, not held assessment processes optional
- optional, not held attend to children's basic physical needs optional
- optional, not held common children's diseases optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held language teaching methods optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held organise creative performance optional
- optional, not held perform playground surveillance optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- optional, not held special needs education optional
- optional, not held use learning strategies optional
- optional, not held workplace sanitation optional
30 held skills the early years teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role animal behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal evolution knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess nature of injury in emergency skill
- not needed by the target role build a fire skill
- not needed by the target role celestial navigation knowledge
- not needed by the target role climb trees skill
- not needed by the target role compass navigation knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate people about nature skill
- not needed by the target role inspire enthusiasm for nature skill
- not needed by the target role lead hiking trips skill
- not needed by the target role lip reading knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain camping facilities skill
- not needed by the target role manage groups outdoors skill
- not needed by the target role natural food resources knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate fishing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role primitive technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role protection from natural elements knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide first aid skill
- not needed by the target role provide first aid to animals skill
- not needed by the target role read maps skill
- not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
- not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
- not needed by the target role rope lashing knowledge
- not needed by the target role teach survival skills skill
- not needed by the target role tracking principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role use geographic memory skill
- not needed by the target role use modern electronic navigational aids skill
- not needed by the target role use rigging tools skill
- not needed by the target role use rope access techniques skill
- not needed by the target role work with different target groups skill
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 instructional strategies required
- still to learn social development required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- still to learn kindergarten school procedures required
- still to learn learning difficulties required
- optional, not held assessment processes optional
- optional, not held common children's diseases optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held language teaching methods optional
- optional, not held special needs education optional
- optional, not held workplace sanitation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a survival instructor become an early years teacher?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A survival instructor already covers 36% of what an early years teacher is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 12 of which the early years teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a survival instructor need to become an early years teacher?
17 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is assess the development of youth.
How hard is the move from survival instructor to early years teacher?
Its learning distance is 68.9 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.