Venue director to sommelier
A venue director already meets 33% of what the sommelier role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
64/ 100
1 How much of what a sommelier is expected to do is already part of a venue 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 sommelier role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A sommelier role treats 5 of its required skills as things a venue director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- compile wine lists
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- maintain customer service
- order supplies
- train employees
What stands in the way is 11 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sommelier role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a venue director background worth leading with.
- already held compile wine lists communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held apply foreign languages in hospitality communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene assisting and caring
- already held maintain customer service communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held order supplies communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held train employees communication, collaboration and creativity
All 6 carried skills, including the 5 the sommelier role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 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.
- still to learn assist customers required
- still to learn decant wines required
- still to learn prepare alcoholic beverages required
- still to learn select glassware for serving required
- still to learn serve wines required
- still to learn recommend wines required
- still to learn upsell products required
- still to learn sparkling wines required
- still to learn wine characteristics required
- still to learn check wine quality required
- still to learn organise wine cellar required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a sommelier 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 · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held compile wine lists skill
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held order supplies skill
- already held train employees skill
- already held apply foreign languages in hospitality skill
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
30 held skills the sommelier role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role arrange special events skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the programmer's reflection process skill
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role create decorative food displays skill
- not needed by the target role devise special promotions skill
- not needed by the target role ensure infrastructure accessibility skill
- not needed by the target role ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment skill
- not needed by the target role ensure portion control skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate events skill
- not needed by the target role handle customer complaints skill
- not needed by the target role handle glassware skill
- not needed by the target role hazard analysis and critical control points knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
- not needed by the target role inspect table settings skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage restaurant service skill
- not needed by the target role manage stock rotation skill
- not needed by the target role maximise sales revenues skill
- not needed by the target role monitor work for special events skill
- not needed by the target role organise cultural events skill
- not needed by the target role oversee the design of touristic publications skill
- not needed by the target role oversee the printing of touristic publications skill
- not needed by the target role plan menus skill
- not needed by the target role prepare tableware skill
- not needed by the target role quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role seek innovation in current practices skill
- not needed by the target role supervise crew skill
- not needed by the target role supervise the work of staff on different shifts skill
- not needed by the target role think creatively about food and beverages skill
2 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 sparkling wines required
- still to learn wine characteristics required
Common questions about this move
Can a venue director become a sommelier?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A venue director already covers 33% of what a sommelier is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 5 of which the sommelier role treats as required.
What skills does a venue director need to become a sommelier?
11 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is assist customers.
How hard is the move from venue director to sommelier?
Its learning distance is 64 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.