Table 1Transition record

project support officertoproject manager

A project support officer already meets 46% of what the project manager role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.

From project support officer

46%

Overlap1

To project manager

27 Skills carried over

17 Required, not held

64.7 Difficulty2

adjacent 0–30

moderate 30–55

substantial 55–75

career change 75–100

this move, 64.7

This move: 64.7 of 100 · substantial

1 Share of the project manager role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the project support 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.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 27 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A project manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a project support officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held customise project methodologies management skills
already held perform PESTEL analysis information skills
already held Prince2 project management business, administration and law
already held project management methodology (PM²) business, administration and law
already held draft project documentation communication, collaboration and creativity
already held organise project meetings management skills

All 27 carried skills, including the 19 the project manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 41 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 management skills 7 required, 8 supplementary

required, not held create project specifications required
required, not held ensure equipment maintenance required
required, not held establish daily priorities required
required, not held manage logistics required
required, not held manage staff required
required, not held manage supplies required
required, not held supervise daily information operations required

optional, not held design wayside signalling interlockings optional
optional, not held develop business plans optional
optional, not held find a replacement for stage manager optional
optional, not held apply change management optional
optional, not held manage several projects optional
optional, not held plan schedule optional
optional, not held recruit employees optional
optional, not held strive for company growth optional

02 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held apply conflict management required
required, not held build business relationships required
required, not held negotiate with stakeholders required
required, not held write work-related reports required

optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
optional, not held use communication techniques optional

03 information skills 3 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held control of expenses required
required, not held identify legal requirements required
required, not held perform resource planning required

optional, not held analyse business plans optional

04 business, administration and law 2 required, 10 supplementary

required, not held internal risk management policy required
required, not held project management required

optional, not held program management optional
optional, not held corporate social responsibility optional
optional, not held crowdsourcing strategy optional
optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
optional, not held legal studies optional
optional, not held office administration optional
optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
optional, not held total quality control optional
optional, not held business processes optional
optional, not held risk identification optional

05 generic programmes and qualifications 1 required

required, not held communication principles required

06 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 2 supplementary

optional, not held mathematics optional
optional, not held statistics optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a project manager 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 27 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held customise project methodologies skill
already held draft project documentation skill
already held ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
already held ensure equipment availability skill
already held estimate duration of work skill
already held follow company standards skill
already held liaise with managers skill
already held manage budgets skill
already held manage project changes skill
already held manage project information skill
already held manage project metrics skill
already held organise project meetings skill
already held perform PESTEL analysis skill
already held perform project management skill
already held perform risk analysis skill
already held project management methodology (PM²) knowledge
already held project management principles knowledge
already held provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
already held train employees skill
already held Agile project management knowledge
already held Prince2 project management knowledge
already held create a financial report skill
already held lean project management knowledge
already held maintain a central project repository skill
already held manage standard enterprise resource planning system skill
already held project configuration management knowledge
already held quality assurance methodologies knowledge

The 1 learning area not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary

optional, not held quantity surveying optional

24 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held program management optional
optional, not held corporate social responsibility optional
optional, not held crowdsourcing strategy optional
optional, not held design wayside signalling interlockings optional
optional, not held develop business plans optional
optional, not held find a replacement for stage manager optional
optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
optional, not held legal studies optional
optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
optional, not held office administration optional
optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
optional, not held quantity surveying optional
optional, not held total quality control optional
optional, not held analyse business plans optional
optional, not held apply change management optional
optional, not held business processes optional
optional, not held manage several projects optional
optional, not held mathematics optional
optional, not held plan schedule optional
optional, not held recruit employees optional
optional, not held risk identification optional
optional, not held statistics optional
optional, not held strive for company growth optional
optional, not held use communication techniques optional

13 held skills the project manager role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role carry out project activities skill
not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
not needed by the target role document project progress skill
not needed by the target role introduce new employees skill
not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
not needed by the target role maintain internal communication systems skill
not needed by the target role manage administrative systems skill
not needed by the target role manage relationships with stakeholders skill
not needed by the target role monitor the conformance to the project methodology skill
not needed by the target role office software knowledge
not needed by the target role organise information on availability of the team skill
not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill

16 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 internal risk management policy required
required, not held project management required
required, not held communication principles required
optional, not held program management optional
optional, not held corporate social responsibility optional
optional, not held crowdsourcing strategy optional
optional, not held insourcing strategy optional
optional, not held legal studies optional
optional, not held office administration optional
optional, not held outsourcing strategy optional
optional, not held quantity surveying optional
optional, not held total quality control optional
optional, not held business processes optional
optional, not held mathematics optional
optional, not held risk identification optional
optional, not held statistics optional

Index

Other moves recorded from project support officer

Full index of moves from project support officer

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.