Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

University department head to special educational needs coordinator

A university department head already meets 59% of what the special educational needs coordinator role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From university department head
59 % overlap
Partial match
To special educational needs coordinator
24 You already bring
8 Still to learn
43 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

46.7/ 100

1 How much of what a special educational needs coordinator 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 special educational needs coordinator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A special educational needs coordinator role treats 13 of its required skills as things a university department head already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • assist in the organisation of school events
  • cooperate with education professionals
  • curriculum objectives
  • curriculum standards
  • evaluate education programmes
  • guarantee students' safety

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A special educational needs coordinator 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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 education administration business, administration and law
  • already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held curriculum standards education

All 24 carried skills, including the 13 the special educational needs coordinator role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 19 missing skills fall into 8 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 education 3 required
  • still to learn instructional strategies required
  • still to learn learning needs analysis required
  • still to learn special needs education required
02 management skills 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn manage government-funded programmes required
  • still to learn organise projects to fill education needs required
  • optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
  • optional, not held manage student admissions optional
  • optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
03 health and welfare 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn disability care required
  • still to learn disability types required
  • optional, not held development delays optional
04 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn follow research on special needs education required
  • optional, not held apply for government funding optional
05 social sciences, journalism and information 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
  • optional, not held communication disorders optional
  • optional, not held government policy optional
06 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a special educational needs coordinator 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 24 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • 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 evaluate education programmes skill
  • already held guarantee students' safety skill
  • already held identify education needs skill
  • already held learning difficulties knowledge
  • already held monitor educational developments skill
  • already held present reports skill
  • already held project management knowledge
  • already held promote education programmes skill
  • already held provide education management support skill
  • already held advise on lesson plans skill
  • already held advise on teaching methods skill
  • already held assessment processes knowledge
  • already held create a financial report skill
  • already held develop organisational policies skill
  • already held education administration knowledge
  • already held escort students on a field trip skill
  • already held funding methods knowledge
  • already held manage budgets skill
  • already held provide feedback to teachers skill
  • already held work with virtual learning environments skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held education law optional
08 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held screen reader optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
  • optional, not held manage student admissions optional
  • optional, not held provide specialised instruction for special needs students optional
  • optional, not held apply for government funding optional
  • optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
  • optional, not held communication disorders optional
  • optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
  • optional, not held development delays optional
  • optional, not held education law optional
  • optional, not held government policy optional
  • optional, not held screen reader optional
17 held skills the special educational needs coordinator role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role adolescent socialisation behaviour knowledge
  • not needed by the target role assess employees' capability levels skill
  • not needed by the target role assess students skill
  • not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
  • not needed by the target role human resource management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify process improvements skill
  • not needed by the target role lead inspections skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain contract administration skill
  • not needed by the target role manage university department skill
  • not needed by the target role plan shifts of employees skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare youths for adulthood skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on study programmes skill
  • not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
  • not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
  • not needed by the target role university procedures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use office systems skill
  • not needed by the target role write work-related reports 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn disability care required
  • still to learn instructional strategies required
  • still to learn disability types required
  • still to learn learning needs analysis required
  • still to learn special needs education required
  • optional, not held behavioural disorders optional
  • optional, not held communication disorders optional
  • optional, not held development delays optional
  • optional, not held education law optional
  • optional, not held government policy optional
  • optional, not held screen reader optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a university department head become a special educational needs coordinator?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A university department head already covers 59% of what a special educational needs coordinator is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 13 of which the special educational needs coordinator role treats as required.

What skills does a university department head need to become a special educational needs coordinator?

8 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by education. The single most important is disability care.

How hard is the move from university department head to special educational needs coordinator?

Its learning distance is 46.7 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.