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

international relations officertoforeign affairs officer

A international relations officer already meets 65% of what the foreign affairs officer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

From international relations officer
65%
Overlap1
To foreign affairs officer
24 Skills carried over
5 Required, not held
36.4 Difficulty2
Career overlap Strong match

65%

Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

36.4/ 100

1 Share of the foreign affairs officer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the international relations officer 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 foreign affairs officer role treats 8 of its required skills as things a international relations officer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • assess risk factors
  • create solutions to problems
  • foreign affairs
  • foreign affairs policy development
  • government policy implementation
  • international business

What stands in the way is 5 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 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A foreign affairs officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a international relations officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held foreign affairs policy development social sciences, journalism and information
  • already held develop international cooperation strategies management skills
  • already held foreign affairs business, administration and law
  • already held diplomatic principles social sciences, journalism and information
  • already held facilitate official agreement communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held international law business, administration and law

All 24 carried skills, including the 8 the foreign affairs officer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 12 missing skills fall into 5 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 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held advise on foreign affairs policies required
  • required, not held advise on public relations required
  • optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
  • optional, not held advise on licencing procedures optional
  • optional, not held present reports optional
02 information skills 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held analyse foreign affairs policies required
  • optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
  • optional, not held report analysis results optional
03 business, administration and law 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held labour legislation required
  • optional, not held international commercial transactions rules optional
04 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required
  • required, not held cultural geography required
05 social sciences, journalism and information 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held public administration optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a foreign affairs officer 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 24 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assess risk factors skill
  • already held create solutions to problems skill
  • already held foreign affairs knowledge
  • already held foreign affairs policy development knowledge
  • already held government policy implementation knowledge
  • already held international business knowledge
  • already held international law knowledge
  • already held manage administrative systems skill
  • already held apply conflict management skill
  • already held build international relations skill
  • already held develop international cooperation strategies skill
  • already held develop professional network skill
  • already held develop promotional tools skill
  • already held diplomatic principles knowledge
  • already held ensure cross-department cooperation skill
  • already held establish collaborative relations skill
  • already held facilitate official agreement skill
  • already held government representation knowledge
  • already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
  • already held manage government policy implementation skill
  • already held perform public relations skill
  • already held show intercultural awareness skill
  • already held speak different languages skill
  • already held use different communication channels skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held international commercial transactions rules optional
  • optional, not held public administration optional
  • optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
  • optional, not held advise on licencing procedures optional
  • optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
  • optional, not held present reports optional
  • optional, not held report analysis results optional
9 held skills the foreign affairs officer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role African studies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role European integration knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply diplomatic principles skill
  • not needed by the target role attend meetings skill
  • not needed by the target role build trust skill
  • not needed by the target role coordinate government activities in foreign institutions skill
  • not needed by the target role keep updated on the political landscape skill
  • not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
  • not needed by the target role set organisational policies skill
4 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 cultural geography required
  • required, not held labour legislation required
  • optional, not held international commercial transactions rules optional
  • optional, not held public administration 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.