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

medical laboratory assistanttoscientific laboratory technician

A medical laboratory assistant already meets 80% of what the scientific laboratory technician role asks for. Every required skill of the target role is already in the profile.

From medical laboratory assistant
80%
Overlap1
To scientific laboratory technician
60 Skills carried over
0 Required, not held
27.4 Difficulty2
Career overlap Very strong match

80%

Learning distance Short step

27.4/ 100

1 Share of the scientific laboratory technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the medical laboratory assistant 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 scientific laboratory technician role treats 16 of its required skills as things a medical laboratory assistant already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • apply safety procedures in laboratory
  • calibrate laboratory equipment
  • cryopreservation
  • laboratory techniques
  • maintain laboratory equipment
  • mix chemicals
Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 60 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A scientific laboratory technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a medical laboratory assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held carry out quality control in microbiology laboratories working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held interpret hematological test results information skills
  • already held perform bone marrow transplant assisting and caring
  • already held blood collection on babies health and welfare
  • already held blood donation health and welfare
  • already held blood type classification health and welfare

All 60 carried skills, including the 16 the scientific laboratory technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 22 missing skills fall into 6 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 information skills 10 supplementary
  • optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
  • optional, not held analyse samples of food and beverages optional
  • optional, not held interpret electromyograms optional
  • optional, not held analyse test data optional
  • optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
  • optional, not held develop scientific research protocols optional
  • optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
  • optional, not held manage chemical processes inspection optional
  • optional, not held manage chemical testing procedures optional
  • optional, not held report test findings optional
02 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held biology optional
  • optional, not held chemistry optional
  • optional, not held life sciences optional
  • optional, not held mathematics optional
  • optional, not held physics optional
03 assisting and caring 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held answer patients' questions optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation optional
04 handling and moving 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held label samples optional
  • optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
05 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held check material resources optional
  • optional, not held manage supplies optional
06 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held assist scientific research optional
Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 60 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
  • already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
  • already held cryopreservation knowledge
  • already held laboratory techniques knowledge
  • already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
  • already held mix chemicals skill
  • already held operate scientific measuring equipment skill
  • already held perform laboratory tests skill
  • already held perform sample testing skill
  • already held prepare samples for testing skill
  • already held record test data skill
  • already held stem cells knowledge
  • already held test chemical samples skill
  • already held use chemical analysis equipment skill
  • already held wear appropriate protective gear skill
  • already held work safely with chemicals skill
  • already held analyse blood samples skill
  • already held analyse cell cultures skill
  • already held archive healthcare users' records skill
  • already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
  • already held automated analysers in the medical laboratory knowledge
  • already held biological chemistry knowledge
  • already held blood collection on babies knowledge
  • already held blood donation knowledge
  • already held blood transfusion knowledge
  • already held blood type classification knowledge
  • already held carry out quality control in microbiology laboratories skill
  • already held check the received biological samples skill
  • already held clinical biochemistry knowledge
  • already held clinical cytology knowledge
  • already held collect biological samples from patients skill
  • already held communicate in healthcare skill
  • already held conduct routine blood testing skill
  • already held data protection knowledge
  • already held dispose medical waste skill
  • already held examine cell specimens microscopically skill
  • already held examine samples in dermatology skill
  • already held explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients skill
  • already held fine-needle aspiration knowledge
  • already held histopathology knowledge
  • already held identify patients' medical records skill
  • already held immunology knowledge
  • already held interpret hematological test results skill
  • already held interpret medical results skill
  • already held label blood samples skill
  • already held maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
  • already held maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
  • already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
  • already held microscopic techniques knowledge
  • already held monitor stock level skill
  • already held order supplies skill
  • already held paediatric phlebotomy procedures knowledge
  • already held perform PCR covid test skill
  • already held perform bone marrow transplant skill
  • already held send samples to laboratory skill
  • already held sterilise medical equipment skill
  • already held techniques of blood-sampling knowledge
  • already held transport blood samples skill
  • already held virology knowledge
  • already held work with chemicals skill
22 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
  • optional, not held analyse samples of food and beverages optional
  • optional, not held answer patients' questions optional
  • optional, not held interpret electromyograms optional
  • optional, not held label samples optional
  • optional, not held analyse test data optional
  • optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
  • optional, not held assist scientific research optional
  • optional, not held biology optional
  • optional, not held check material resources optional
  • optional, not held chemistry optional
  • optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
  • optional, not held develop scientific research protocols optional
  • optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation optional
  • optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
  • optional, not held life sciences optional
  • optional, not held manage chemical processes inspection optional
  • optional, not held manage chemical testing procedures optional
  • optional, not held manage supplies optional
  • optional, not held mathematics optional
  • optional, not held physics optional
  • optional, not held report test findings optional
12 held skills the scientific laboratory technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role carry out flow cytometry skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct cancer screening tests skill
  • not needed by the target role densiometry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role dermapathology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electroencephalography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interpret urology diagnostic tests skill
  • not needed by the target role perform cerebrospinal fluid analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role perform fertility laboratory procedures skill
  • not needed by the target role perform reconstructive microsurgery skill
  • not needed by the target role perform stem cell transplantation skill
  • not needed by the target role tissue cytogenetics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role urolithiasis in the urinary tract knowledge
5 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
  • optional, not held biology optional
  • optional, not held chemistry optional
  • optional, not held life sciences optional
  • optional, not held mathematics optional
  • optional, not held physics 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.