Water plant technician to wastewater treatment technician
A water plant technician already meets 50% of what the wastewater treatment technician role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.3/ 100
1 How much of what a wastewater treatment technician is expected to do is already part of a water plant technician’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 wastewater treatment technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A wastewater treatment technician role treats 6 of its required skills as things a water plant technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure equipment maintenance
- maintain desalination control system
- maintain records of maintenance interventions
- maintain specified water characteristics
- maintain water treatment equipment
- monitor water quality
What stands in the way is 7 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A wastewater treatment technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a water plant technician background worth leading with.
- already held maintain specified water characteristics working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held maintain water storage equipment constructing
- already held maintain desalination control system working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held ensure proper water storage information skills
- already held operate water purifying equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held percolation natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 16 carried skills, including the 6 the wastewater treatment technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 7 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 interpret scientific data to assess water quality required
- still to learn keep records of work progress required
- still to learn replace machines required
- still to learn report test findings required
- optional, not held perform sample testing optional
- still to learn use testing equipment required
- optional, not held operate pumping equipment optional
- optional, not held operate sewage treatment plans on ships optional
- still to learn apply health and safety standards required
- still to learn resolve equipment malfunctions required
- optional, not held dispose of sewage sludge optional
- optional, not held prepare samples for testing optional
- optional, not held repair plumbing systems optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a wastewater treatment technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply health and safety standards practise this
- 02 interpret scientific data to assess water quality practise this
- 03 keep records of work progress 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 16 skills that carry over
- already held ensure equipment maintenance skill
- already held maintain desalination control system skill
- already held maintain records of maintenance interventions skill
- already held maintain specified water characteristics skill
- already held maintain water treatment equipment skill
- already held monitor water quality skill
- already held ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- already held ensure proper water storage skill
- already held maintain water storage equipment skill
- already held operate hydraulic machinery controls skill
- already held operate water purifying equipment skill
- already held percolation knowledge
- already held perform water treatments skill
- already held test samples for pollutants skill
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
- already held use water disinfection equipment skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held operate pumping equipment optional
- optional, not held operate sewage treatment plans on ships optional
- optional, not held dispose of sewage sludge optional
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
- optional, not held perform sample testing optional
- optional, not held prepare samples for testing optional
- optional, not held repair plumbing systems optional
19 held skills the wastewater treatment technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role carry out waste water treatment skill
- not needed by the target role collect samples for analysis skill
- not needed by the target role document analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role ensure equipment availability skill
- not needed by the target role follow water supply schedule skill
- not needed by the target role install hydraulic systems skill
- not needed by the target role install plumbing systems skill
- not needed by the target role maintain water distribution equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage desalination control system skill
- not needed by the target role measure water quality parameters skill
- not needed by the target role operate pumping systems skill
- not needed by the target role perform laboratory tests skill
- not needed by the target role perform water testing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role perform water treatment procedures skill
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
- not needed by the target role water chemistry analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role water policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role water pressure knowledge
- not needed by the target role water reuse knowledge
1 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 laboratory techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can a water plant technician become a wastewater treatment technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A water plant technician already covers 50% of what a wastewater treatment technician is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 6 of which the wastewater treatment technician role treats as required.
What skills does a water plant technician need to become a wastewater treatment technician?
7 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is apply health and safety standards.
How hard is the move from water plant technician to wastewater treatment technician?
Its learning distance is 47.3 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.