Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

forestry equipment operatortotree surgeon

A forestry equipment operator already meets 23% of what the tree surgeon role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.

From forestry equipment operator
23%
Overlap1
To tree surgeon
7 Skills carried over
9 Required, not held
70.7 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

23%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

70.7/ 100

1 Share of the tree surgeon role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the forestry equipment operator profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A tree surgeon role treats 2 of its required skills as things a forestry equipment operator already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • de-limb trees
  • minimize risks in tree operations

What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A tree surgeon role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a forestry equipment operator background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held fell trees handling and moving
  • already held identify trees to fell handling and moving
  • already held select tree felling methods management skills
  • already held minimize risks in tree operations information skills
  • already held maintain forestry equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held forest ecology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics

All 7 carried skills, including the 2 the tree surgeon role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 19 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 handling and moving 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • required, not held perform tree thinning required
  • required, not held climb trees required
  • required, not held operate chainsaw required
  • optional, not held assist tree identification optional
  • optional, not held control tree diseases optional
  • optional, not held monitor tree health optional
  • optional, not held nurse trees optional
02 assisting and caring 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held execute disease and pest control activities required
  • required, not held protect trees required
  • required, not held follow safety procedures when working at heights required
  • optional, not held conserve forests optional
03 agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary 1 required
  • required, not held tree preservation and conservation required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required
  • required, not held advise on tree issues required
05 constructing 1 required
  • required, not held carry out aerial tree rigging required
06 information skills 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held analyse tree population optional
  • optional, not held estimate damage optional
  • optional, not held inspect trees optional
  • optional, not held measure trees optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a tree surgeon 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 7 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held de-limb trees skill
  • already held minimize risks in tree operations skill
  • already held fell trees skill
  • already held forest ecology knowledge
  • already held identify trees to fell skill
  • already held maintain forestry equipment skill
  • already held select tree felling methods skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate forestry equipment optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held analyse tree population optional
  • optional, not held assist tree identification optional
  • optional, not held conserve forests optional
  • optional, not held control tree diseases optional
  • optional, not held estimate damage optional
  • optional, not held monitor tree health optional
  • optional, not held nurse trees optional
  • optional, not held operate forestry equipment optional
  • optional, not held inspect trees optional
  • optional, not held measure trees optional
39 held skills the tree surgeon role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on timber harvest skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on timber-based products skill
  • not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role assess felled timber quality skill
  • not needed by the target role assess felled timber volume skill
  • not needed by the target role attach protective attachments to timber piles skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out routine maintenance of wood cutting machinery skill
  • not needed by the target role comply with timber trade code of conduct skill
  • not needed by the target role drive agricultural machines skill
  • not needed by the target role drive timber machine skill
  • not needed by the target role extract coppice skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast timber production skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
  • not needed by the target role forest conservation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role harvest timber skill
  • not needed by the target role improve timber stands skill
  • not needed by the target role inspect timber skill
  • not needed by the target role limit load to prevent damage skill
  • not needed by the target role load timber onto a skidder skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain edged hand tools skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain forest inventory skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain the security of machinery skill
  • not needed by the target role manage logs segregation and stacking skill
  • not needed by the target role minimise environmental impact on the surrounding area skill
  • not needed by the target role operate GPS systems skill
  • not needed by the target role operate forestry machinery skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare emergency treework operations skill
  • not needed by the target role process arisings from treework operations skill
  • not needed by the target role process timber using hand-fed machinery skill
  • not needed by the target role provide first aid skill
  • not needed by the target role reforestation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role report pollution incidents skill
  • not needed by the target role report to the team leader skill
  • not needed by the target role sharpen edged tools skill
  • not needed by the target role spray pesticides skill
  • not needed by the target role timber products knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use ICT systems skill
  • not needed by the target role use hand tools for forestry work skill
  • not needed by the target role work independently in forestry services skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held tree preservation and conservation required
Index
Note

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.