Tourism policy director to foreign affairs officer
A tourism policy director already meets 37% of what the foreign affairs officer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.5/ 100
1 How much of what a foreign affairs officer is expected to do is already part of a tourism policy director’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 foreign affairs officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A foreign affairs officer role treats 5 of its required skills as things a tourism policy director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on foreign affairs policies
- analyse foreign affairs policies
- foreign affairs
- foreign affairs policy development
- government policy implementation
What stands in the way is 8 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 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A foreign affairs officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a tourism policy director background worth leading with.
- already held foreign affairs policy development social sciences, journalism and information
- already held develop international cooperation strategies management skills
- already held analyse foreign affairs policies information skills
- already held advise on foreign affairs policies communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held foreign affairs business, administration and law
- already held build international relations communication, collaboration and creativity
All 13 carried skills, including the 5 the foreign affairs officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 missing skills fall into 6 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 international business required
- still to learn international law required
- still to learn labour legislation required
- optional, not held international commercial transactions rules optional
- still to learn advise on public relations required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
- optional, not held advise on licencing procedures optional
- optional, not held apply conflict management optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held develop promotional tools optional
- optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- still to learn assess risk factors required
- optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
- still to learn manage administrative systems required
- still to learn cultural geography required
- optional, not held public administration optional
- optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
- optional, not held government representation optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a foreign affairs officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 cultural geography study this
- 02 manage administrative systems practise this
- 03 advise on public relations 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 13 skills that carry over
- already held advise on foreign affairs policies skill
- already held analyse foreign affairs policies skill
- already held foreign affairs knowledge
- already held foreign affairs policy development knowledge
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held build international relations skill
- already held develop international cooperation strategies skill
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held perform public relations skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held report analysis results skill
- already held show intercultural awareness skill
- already held speak different languages skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held international commercial transactions rules optional
- optional, not held public administration optional
- optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
- optional, not held advise on licencing procedures optional
- optional, not held apply conflict management optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held develop promotional tools optional
- optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
- optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
- optional, not held establish collaborative relations optional
- optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
- optional, not held government representation optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
- optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
17 held skills the foreign affairs officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess an area as a tourism destination skill
- not needed by the target role build a strategic marketing plan for destination management skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate public-private partnerships in tourism skill
- not needed by the target role deliver presentations on tourism skill
- not needed by the target role develop tourism policies skill
- not needed by the target role environmental impact of tourism knowledge
- not needed by the target role geographical areas relevant to tourism knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage distribution of destination promotional materials skill
- not needed by the target role manage production of destination promotional materials skill
- not needed by the target role marketing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role measure sustainability of tourism activities skill
- not needed by the target role plan event marketing for promotional campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role plan measures to safeguard cultural heritage skill
- not needed by the target role plan measures to safeguard natural protected areas skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role tourism market knowledge
- not needed by the target role tourist resources of a destination for further development knowledge
8 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 cultural geography required
- still to learn international business required
- still to learn international law required
- still to learn labour legislation required
- optional, not held international commercial transactions rules optional
- optional, not held public administration optional
- optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
- optional, not held government representation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a tourism policy director become a foreign affairs officer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A tourism policy director already covers 37% of what a foreign affairs officer is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 5 of which the foreign affairs officer role treats as required.
What skills does a tourism policy director need to become a foreign affairs officer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is cultural geography.
How hard is the move from tourism policy director to foreign affairs officer?
Its learning distance is 60.5 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.