Textile colourist to printing textile technician
A textile colourist already meets 53% of what the printing textile technician role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
41.9/ 100
1 How much of what a printing textile technician is expected to do is already part of a textile colourist’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 printing textile technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A printing textile technician role treats 5 of its required skills as things a textile colourist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- conduct textile testing operations
- design yarns
- dyeing technology
- maintain work standards
- textile chemistry
What stands in the way is 4 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printing textile technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a textile colourist background worth leading with.
- already held design yarns communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop textile colouring recipes handling and moving
- already held prepare equipment for textile printing working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held draw sketches to develop textile articles communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held textile chemistry engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held dyeing technology engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 8 carried skills, including the 5 the printing textile technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 8 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 textile printing technology required
- optional, not held textile finishing technology optional
- optional, not held textile technologies optional
- still to learn decorate textile articles required
- optional, not held tend textile printing machines optional
- still to learn evaluate textile characteristics required
- still to learn control textile process required
- optional, not held design woven fabrics optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a printing textile technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 control textile process practise this
- 02 decorate textile articles practise this
- 03 evaluate textile characteristics 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held conduct textile testing operations skill
- already held design yarns skill
- already held dyeing technology knowledge
- already held maintain work standards skill
- already held textile chemistry knowledge
- already held develop textile colouring recipes skill
- already held draw sketches to develop textile articles skill
- already held prepare equipment for textile printing skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design woven fabrics optional
- optional, not held tend textile printing machines optional
- optional, not held textile finishing technology optional
- optional, not held textile technologies optional
5 held skills the printing textile technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role draw sketches to develop textile articles using softwares skill
- not needed by the target role portfolio management in textile manufacturing knowledge
- not needed by the target role seek innovation in current practices skill
- not needed by the target role textile marketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role use textile technique for hand-made products skill
3 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 textile printing technology required
- optional, not held textile finishing technology optional
- optional, not held textile technologies optional
Common questions about this move
Can a textile colourist become a printing textile technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A textile colourist already covers 53% of what a printing textile technician is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 5 of which the printing textile technician role treats as required.
What skills does a textile colourist need to become a printing textile technician?
4 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is control textile process.
How hard is the move from textile colourist to printing textile technician?
Its learning distance is 41.9 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.