University department head to secondary school department head
A university department head already meets 75% of what the secondary school department head role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
32.4/ 100
1 How much of what a secondary school department head is expected to do is already part of a university department head’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 secondary school department head role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secondary school department head role treats 16 of its required skills as things a university department head already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on teaching methods
- assess employees' capability levels
- assessment processes
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
What stands in the way is 6 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 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secondary school department head role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a university department head background worth leading with.
- already held provide education management support management skills
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assess employees' capability levels management skills
- already held maintain contract administration information skills
All 34 carried skills, including the 16 the secondary school department head role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 4 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 manage secondary school department required
- still to learn assess the development of youth required
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- still to learn instructional strategies required
- still to learn learning technologies required
- still to learn liaise with educational staff required
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secondary school department head role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage secondary school department practise this
- 02 assess the development of youth practise this
- 03 instructional strategies 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 34 skills that carry over
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held assess employees' capability levels skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held identify process improvements skill
- already held lead inspections skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide education management support skill
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held adolescent socialisation behaviour knowledge
- already held advise on lesson plans skill
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held develop organisational policies skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held escort students on a field trip skill
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held maintain contract administration skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held plan shifts of employees skill
- already held prepare youths for adulthood skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held work with virtual learning environments skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
7 held skills the secondary school department head role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess students skill
- not needed by the target role education administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role human resource management knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage university department skill
- not needed by the target role provide information on study programmes skill
- not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
- not needed by the target role university procedures knowledge
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 instructional strategies required
- still to learn learning technologies required
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
Common questions about this move
Can a university department head become a secondary school department head?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A university department head already covers 75% of what a secondary school department head is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 16 of which the secondary school department head role treats as required.
What skills does a university department head need to become a secondary school department head?
6 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage secondary school department.
How hard is the move from university department head to secondary school department head?
Its learning distance is 32.4 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.