Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Tourism policy director to political affairs officer

A tourism policy director already meets 37% of what the political affairs officer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From tourism policy director
37 % overlap
Distant match
To political affairs officer
9 You already bring
5 Still to learn
31 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

57.8/ 100

1 How much of what a political 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 political affairs officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A political 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 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A political 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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 government policy implementation social sciences, journalism and information

All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the political affairs officer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 22 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn advise on conflict management required
  • still to learn advise on legislative acts required
  • still to learn write situation reports required
  • optional, not held represent union members optional
  • optional, not held apply conflict management optional
  • optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
  • optional, not held maintain operational communications optional
  • optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
  • optional, not held perform political negotiation optional
02 information skills 2 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn advise on risk management required
  • still to learn monitor political conflicts required
  • optional, not held analyse potential threats against national security optional
  • optional, not held assess danger in risk areas optional
  • optional, not held assess risk factors optional
  • optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
03 social sciences, journalism and information 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held European integration optional
  • optional, not held European political studies optional
  • optional, not held good governance optional
  • optional, not held political economy optional
  • optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
04 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held identify security threats optional
05 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held international law optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a political affairs officer 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 9 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • 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 develop international cooperation strategies skill
  • already held present reports skill
  • already held scientific research methodology knowledge
  • already held show intercultural awareness skill
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held European integration optional
  • optional, not held European political studies optional
  • optional, not held analyse potential threats against national security optional
  • optional, not held good governance optional
  • optional, not held political economy optional
  • optional, not held represent union members optional
  • optional, not held apply conflict management optional
  • optional, not held assess danger in risk areas optional
  • optional, not held assess risk factors optional
  • optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
  • optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
  • optional, not held identify security threats optional
  • optional, not held international law optional
  • optional, not held maintain operational communications optional
  • optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
  • optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
  • optional, not held perform political negotiation optional
21 held skills the political affairs officer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • 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 build international relations 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 government policy implementation 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 perform public relations 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 report analysis results skill
  • not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
  • not needed by the target role tourism market knowledge
  • not needed by the target role tourist resources of a destination for further development knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held European integration optional
  • optional, not held European political studies optional
  • optional, not held good governance optional
  • optional, not held political economy optional
  • optional, not held diplomatic principles optional
  • optional, not held international law optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a tourism policy director become a political affairs officer?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A tourism policy director already covers 37% of what a political affairs officer is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the political affairs officer role treats as required.

What skills does a tourism policy director need to become a political affairs officer?

5 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is advise on conflict management.

How hard is the move from tourism policy director to political affairs officer?

Its learning distance is 57.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.