Warfare specialist to squadron leader
A warfare specialist already meets 74% of what the squadron leader role asks for. The move turns on 2 required skills not yet in the profile.
24.2/ 100
1 How much of what a squadron leader is expected to do is already part of a warfare specialist’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 squadron leader role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A squadron leader role treats 8 of its required skills as things a warfare specialist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure compliance with types of weapons
- give battle commands
- lead military troops
- maintain operational communications
- manage troop deployment
- military combat techniques
What stands in the way is 2 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A squadron leader role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a warfare specialist background worth leading with.
- already held operate armoured fighting vehicles working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held assess danger in risk areas information skills
- already held camouflage engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held give battle commands communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held lead military troops management skills
- already held manage troop deployment management skills
All 19 carried skills, including the 8 the squadron leader role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 8 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 provide humanitarian aid required
- optional, not held apply air force procedures optional
- optional, not held apply military aviation regulations optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- still to learn train military troops required
- optional, not held military aviation optional
- optional, not held air force operations optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 2 entries a squadron leader 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held give battle commands skill
- already held lead military troops skill
- already held maintain operational communications skill
- already held manage troop deployment skill
- already held military combat techniques knowledge
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held perform military operations skill
- already held assess danger in risk areas skill
- already held camouflage knowledge
- already held execute working instructions skill
- already held geographic information systems knowledge
- already held handle surveillance equipment skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held military code knowledge
- already held operate armoured fighting vehicles skill
- already held surveillance methods knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held use geographic information systems skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held military aviation optional
- optional, not held air force operations optional
- optional, not held apply air force procedures optional
- optional, not held apply military aviation regulations optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
22 held skills the squadron leader role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role concepts of telecommunications knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate rescue missions skill
- not needed by the target role create strategic maps skill
- not needed by the target role devise military tactics skill
- not needed by the target role electromagnetic spectrum knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic and telecommunication equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure information security skill
- not needed by the target role identify terrorism threats skill
- not needed by the target role interfere with enemy communications skill
- not needed by the target role military weaponry knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor surveillance equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate radar equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operational research knowledge
- not needed by the target role patrol areas skill
- not needed by the target role perform covert investigations skill
- not needed by the target role practice vigilance skill
- not needed by the target role respond to enquiries skill
- not needed by the target role surveillance radars knowledge
- not needed by the target role write situation reports skill
3 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 military aviation optional
- optional, not held air force operations optional
- optional, not held legal use-of-force optional
Common questions about this move
Can a warfare specialist become a squadron leader?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A warfare specialist already covers 74% of what a squadron leader is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 8 of which the squadron leader role treats as required.
What skills does a warfare specialist need to become a squadron leader?
2 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is provide humanitarian aid.
How hard is the move from warfare specialist to squadron leader?
Its learning distance is 24.2 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.