Waiter/waitress to bartender
A waiter/waitress already meets 37% of what the bartender role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.2/ 100
1 How much of what a bartender is expected to do is already part of a waiter/waitress’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 bartender role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A bartender role treats 8 of its required skills as things a waiter/waitress already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- detect drug abuse
- identify customer's needs
- maintain customer service
- prepare hot drinks
- process payments
What stands in the way is 13 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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A bartender role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a waiter/waitress background worth leading with.
- already held prepare hot drinks assisting and caring
- already held serve wines assisting and caring
- already held educate customers on tea varieties communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held sparkling wines engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held take food and beverage orders from customers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held apply foreign languages in hospitality communication, collaboration and creativity
All 14 carried skills, including the 8 the bartender role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 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 serve beers required
- still to learn clear the bar at closing time required
- still to learn handle bar equipment required
- still to learn setup the bar area required
- still to learn enforce alcohol drinking laws required
- optional, not held prepare garnish for drinks optional
- optional, not held prepare fruit ingredients for use in beverages optional
- optional, not held prepare mixed beverages optional
- still to learn display spirits required
- still to learn present drinks menu required
- still to learn execute opening and closing procedures required
- still to learn upsell products required
- optional, not held assemble cocktail garnishes optional
- optional, not held compile drinks menu optional
- optional, not held create decorative food displays optional
- still to learn handover the service area required
- still to learn maintain bar cleanliness required
- still to learn stock the bar required
- still to learn handle glassware required
- optional, not held change kegs optional
- optional, not held clean beer pipes optional
- optional, not held handle gas cylinders optional
- optional, not held compile drinks price lists optional
- optional, not held devise special promotions optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a bartender role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 serve beers practise this
- 02 clear the bar at closing time practise this
- 03 display spirits 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held detect drug abuse skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held prepare hot drinks skill
- already held process payments skill
- already held serve beverages skill
- already held take food and beverage orders from customers skill
- already held apply foreign languages in hospitality skill
- already held educate customers on coffee varieties skill
- already held educate customers on tea varieties skill
- already held local area tourism industry knowledge
- already held serve wines skill
- already held sparkling wines knowledge
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held change kegs optional
- optional, not held clean beer pipes optional
- optional, not held prepare garnish for drinks optional
- optional, not held assemble cocktail garnishes optional
- optional, not held compile drinks menu optional
- optional, not held compile drinks price lists optional
- optional, not held create decorative food displays optional
- optional, not held prepare fruit ingredients for use in beverages optional
- optional, not held prepare mixed beverages optional
- optional, not held devise special promotions optional
- optional, not held handle gas cylinders optional
29 held skills the bartender role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise guests on menus for special events skill
- not needed by the target role alcoholic beverage products knowledge
- not needed by the target role arrange tables skill
- not needed by the target role assist VIP guests skill
- not needed by the target role assist clients with special needs skill
- not needed by the target role assist customers skill
- not needed by the target role attend to detail regarding food and beverages skill
- not needed by the target role check dining room cleanliness skill
- not needed by the target role clean surfaces skill
- not needed by the target role decant wines skill
- not needed by the target role dietary regimes knowledge
- not needed by the target role food and beverages on the menu knowledge
- not needed by the target role laws regulating serving alcoholic drinks knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain incident reporting records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
- not needed by the target role prepare alcoholic beverages skill
- not needed by the target role prepare flambeed dishes skill
- not needed by the target role prepare service trolleys skill
- not needed by the target role prepare the restaurant for service skill
- not needed by the target role present menus skill
- not needed by the target role process reservations skill
- not needed by the target role recommend wines skill
- not needed by the target role serve food in table service skill
- not needed by the target role supervise food quality skill
- not needed by the target role use food cutting tools skill
- not needed by the target role welcome restaurant guests skill
- not needed by the target role work in a hospitality team skill
Other moves recorded from waiter/waitress
- restaurant host/restaurant hostess 72% covered · adjacent
- sommelier 51% covered · moderate
- quick service restaurant crew member 46% covered · moderate
- hotel concierge 44% covered · moderate
- barista 40% covered · substantial
- club host/club hostess 40% covered · substantial
- hotel butler 36% covered · substantial
- head waiter/head waitress 35% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a waiter/waitress become a bartender?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A waiter/waitress already covers 37% of what a bartender is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 8 of which the bartender role treats as required.
What skills does a waiter/waitress need to become a bartender?
13 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is serve beers.
How hard is the move from waiter/waitress to bartender?
Its learning distance is 67.2 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.