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

product development engineering draftertomechanical engineering drafter

A product development engineering drafter already meets 68% of what the mechanical engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.

From product development engineering drafter
68%
Overlap1
To mechanical engineering drafter
17 Skills carried over
3 Required, not held
31.5 Difficulty2
Career overlap Strong match

68%

Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

31.5/ 100

1 Share of the mechanical engineering drafter role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the product development engineering drafter 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 mechanical engineering drafter role treats 11 of its required skills as things a product development engineering drafter already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • CAD software
  • create technical plans
  • design drawings
  • liaise with engineers
  • manual draughting techniques
  • mathematics

What stands in the way is 3 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 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A mechanical engineering drafter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a product development engineering drafter background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held define part requirements information skills
  • already held use CADD software working with computers
  • already held manual draughting techniques arts and humanities
  • already held use manual draughting techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create a product's virtual model communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held draft design specifications communication, collaboration and creativity

All 17 carried skills, including the 11 the mechanical engineering drafter role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 12 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 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held mechanics required
  • required, not held principles of mechanical engineering required
  • optional, not held blueprints optional
  • optional, not held material mechanics optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held create solutions to problems required
  • optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
  • optional, not held review drafts optional
03 information skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
  • optional, not held read standard blueprints optional
04 constructing 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held maintain mechanical equipment optional
05 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held CADD software optional
06 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held physics optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a mechanical engineering drafter 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 17 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held CAD software knowledge
  • already held create technical plans skill
  • already held design drawings knowledge
  • already held liaise with engineers skill
  • already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
  • already held mathematics knowledge
  • already held mechanical engineering knowledge
  • already held technical drawings knowledge
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held use manual draughting techniques skill
  • already held use technical drawing software skill
  • already held 3D modelling knowledge
  • already held adjust engineering designs skill
  • already held create a product's virtual model skill
  • already held define part requirements skill
  • already held draft design specifications skill
  • already held use CADD software skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held maintain mechanical equipment optional
  • optional, not held CADD software optional
  • optional, not held advise client on technical possibilities optional
  • optional, not held blueprints optional
  • optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
  • optional, not held material mechanics optional
  • optional, not held physics optional
  • optional, not held read standard blueprints optional
  • optional, not held review drafts optional
17 held skills the mechanical engineering drafter role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role build a product's physical model skill
  • not needed by the target role circular economy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role design management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop assembly instructions skill
  • not needed by the target role draw blueprints skill
  • not needed by the target role draw design sketches skill
  • not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role industrial engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manufacturing processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role product data management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role provide technical documentation skill
  • not needed by the target role read engineering drawings 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 mechanics required
  • required, not held principles of mechanical engineering required
  • optional, not held CADD software optional
  • optional, not held blueprints optional
  • optional, not held material mechanics 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.