Vehicle cleaner to roadside vehicle technician
A vehicle cleaner already meets 26% of what the roadside vehicle technician role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.6/ 100
1 How much of what a roadside vehicle technician is expected to do is already part of a vehicle cleaner’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 roadside vehicle technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A roadside vehicle technician role treats 5 of its required skills as things a vehicle cleaner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- car controls
- communicate with customers
- drive vehicles
- execute working instructions
- types of vehicles
What stands in the way is 10 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A roadside vehicle technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a vehicle cleaner background worth leading with.
- already held fix minor vehicle scratches handling and moving
- already held car controls services
- already held types of vehicles engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held execute working instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held drive vehicles working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held ensure client orientation communication, collaboration and creativity
All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the roadside vehicle technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 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.
- still to learn carry out repair of vehicles required
- still to learn carry out repairs and maintenance of vehicle bodies required
- still to learn perform technical tasks with great care required
- optional, not held operate towtruck optional
- optional, not held carry out repair of motorcycles optional
- optional, not held perform defensive driving optional
- optional, not held perform minor vehicle repairs optional
- optional, not held repair vehicle electrical systems optional
- still to learn identify vehicles service requirements required
- still to learn respond to customers' inquiries required
- still to learn use different communication channels required
- optional, not held adapt to new technology used in cars optional
- optional, not held advise customers on usage of vehicles optional
- optional, not held provide customer information related to repairs optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with warranty contracts optional
- still to learn maintain motorcycle records required
- still to learn maintain vehicle records required
- optional, not held perform road testing of vehicles optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- still to learn organise vehicle breakdown support required
- optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
- still to learn perform manual work autonomously required
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held mechanics optional
- optional, not held types of vehicle engines optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a roadside vehicle technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 carry out repair of vehicles practise this
- 02 carry out repairs and maintenance of vehicle bodies practise this
- 03 identify vehicles service requirements 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held car controls knowledge
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held drive vehicles skill
- already held execute working instructions skill
- already held types of vehicles knowledge
- already held ensure client orientation skill
- already held fix minor vehicle scratches skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held maintain vehicle appearance optional
- optional, not held use automotive diagnostic equipment optional
- optional, not held operate GPS systems optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held operate towtruck optional
- optional, not held adapt to new technology used in cars optional
- optional, not held advise customers on usage of vehicles optional
- optional, not held carry out repair of motorcycles optional
- optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
- optional, not held maintain vehicle appearance optional
- optional, not held perform defensive driving optional
- optional, not held perform minor vehicle repairs optional
- optional, not held provide customer information related to repairs optional
- optional, not held repair vehicle electrical systems optional
- optional, not held use automotive diagnostic equipment optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with warranty contracts optional
- optional, not held mechanics optional
- optional, not held operate GPS systems optional
- optional, not held perform road testing of vehicles optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- optional, not held types of vehicle engines optional
17 held skills the roadside vehicle technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role car cleaning procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role clean equipment skill
- not needed by the target role clean vehicle engine skill
- not needed by the target role clean vehicle exterior skill
- not needed by the target role clean vehicle interiors skill
- not needed by the target role cooperate with colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role ensure vehicle preparation for pick-up skill
- not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role health, safety and hygiene legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain work area cleanliness skill
- not needed by the target role manage stocked company material skill
- not needed by the target role perform cleaning activities in an environmentally friendly way skill
- not needed by the target role report accounts of the professional activity skill
- not needed by the target role teamwork principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role treat vehicle fabrics skill
- not needed by the target role wash vehicles skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held mechanics optional
- optional, not held types of vehicle engines optional
Common questions about this move
Can a vehicle cleaner become a roadside vehicle technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A vehicle cleaner already covers 26% of what a roadside vehicle technician is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the roadside vehicle technician role treats as required.
What skills does a vehicle cleaner need to become a roadside vehicle technician?
10 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is carry out repair of vehicles.
How hard is the move from vehicle cleaner to roadside vehicle technician?
Its learning distance is 73.6 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.