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

ICT help desk agenttocustomer service representative

A ICT help desk agent already meets 31% of what the customer service representative role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.

From ICT help desk agent
31%
Overlap1
To customer service representative
11 Skills carried over
16 Required, not held
71.3 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

31%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

71.3/ 100

1 Share of the customer service representative role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the ICT help desk agent 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 customer service representative role treats 8 of its required skills as things a ICT help desk agent already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • communicate with customers
  • create solutions to problems
  • guarantee customer satisfaction
  • identify customer's needs
  • knowledge base
  • manage schedule of tasks

What stands in the way is 16 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 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A customer service representative role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a ICT help desk agent background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held perform escalation procedure communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held knowledge base information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held use e-services working with computers
  • already held use customer relationship management software working with computers
  • already held manage schedule of tasks management skills
  • already held perform data analysis working with computers

All 11 carried skills, including the 8 the customer service representative role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 28 missing skills fall into 8 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 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 6 supplementary
  • required, not held implement customer follow-up required
  • required, not held apply conflict management required
  • required, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour required
  • required, not held ensure client orientation required
  • required, not held listen actively required
  • optional, not held carry out active selling optional
  • optional, not held contact customers optional
  • optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
  • optional, not held show diplomacy optional
  • optional, not held speak different languages optional
  • optional, not held upsell products optional
02 information skills 5 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held determine charges for customer services required
  • required, not held process order forms with customer's information required
  • required, not held control of expenses required
  • required, not held keep records of customer interaction required
  • required, not held process data required
  • optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
03 management skills 3 required
  • required, not held process refunds required
  • required, not held perform multiple tasks at the same time required
  • required, not held process customer orders required
04 business, administration and law 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held customer service required
  • optional, not held sales activities optional
  • optional, not held relationship marketing optional
05 assisting and caring 1 required
  • required, not held provide information required
06 working with computers 1 required
  • required, not held have computer literacy required

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a customer service representative 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 11 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held communicate with customers skill
  • already held create solutions to problems skill
  • already held guarantee customer satisfaction skill
  • already held identify customer's needs skill
  • already held knowledge base knowledge
  • already held manage schedule of tasks skill
  • already held perform escalation procedure skill
  • already held provide customer follow-up services skill
  • already held perform data analysis skill
  • already held use customer relationship management software skill
  • already held use e-services skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
  • optional, not held data mining methods optional
08 services 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held consumer protection optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held carry out active selling optional
  • optional, not held contact customers optional
  • optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
  • optional, not held sales activities optional
  • optional, not held consumer protection optional
  • optional, not held data mining methods optional
  • optional, not held facilitate official agreement optional
  • optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
  • optional, not held relationship marketing optional
  • optional, not held show diplomacy optional
  • optional, not held speak different languages optional
  • optional, not held upsell products optional
21 held skills the customer service representative role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role ICT help platforms knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT infrastructure knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
  • not needed by the target role answer incoming calls skill
  • not needed by the target role assist customers skill
  • not needed by the target role characteristics of products knowledge
  • not needed by the target role characteristics of services knowledge
  • not needed by the target role educate on data confidentiality skill
  • not needed by the target role handle helpdesk problems skill
  • not needed by the target role implement a virtual private network skill
  • not needed by the target role implement anti-virus software skill
  • not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
  • not needed by the target role keep task records skill
  • not needed by the target role keep up to date on product knowledge skill
  • not needed by the target role prioritise requests skill
  • not needed by the target role product comprehension knowledge
  • not needed by the target role provide ICT support skill
  • not needed by the target role solve ICT system problems skill
  • not needed by the target role support ICT system users skill
  • not needed by the target role use ICT hardware skill
  • not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill
6 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 customer service required
  • optional, not held e-commerce systems optional
  • optional, not held sales activities optional
  • optional, not held consumer protection optional
  • optional, not held data mining methods optional
  • optional, not held relationship marketing optional
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.