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Institute of Advanced Technological and Commercial Studies

Practical guides

Applying to change career

You are changing occupation and you arrive with experience that counts. The application makes it visible, the interview sharpens the target, and the professional title places you on a named occupation. Here is the full path, from first scan to first module.

What your experience brings to the file

A career change is judged on what you already know how to run, not on your current job title. Field experience, including informal, is told through actions: what you organised, repaired, sold, supervised, costed. That material makes the difference at interview, and it is what points to the right entry level.

  • Responsibilities held, with their real scope
  • Tools and procedures you handle day to day
  • Results you can describe and back up
  • Training taken on the job, however short

Six steps, from scan to first module

  1. 01

    Name the target occupation

    Start from the occupation, not the programme. The professional title catalogue is organised that way: each title carries an occupation and a level of responsibility.

  2. 02

    Place your entry level

    Four levels, from skilled employee to executive. Yours reads from the responsibility you already exercise, not from your seniority.

  3. 03

    Write your experience in blocks

    Take the skill blocks of the target title and note, against each one, what you have already run. That table becomes your interview outline.

  4. 04

    File the application

    Online, with your identity and background documents. Work experience, informal included, is declared and detailed in the free-text section.

  5. 05

    Take the interview

    Thirty minutes remotely, on your project and your real availability. This is when you confirm the pace your current job allows.

  6. 06

    Open your space

    As soon as enrolment is confirmed, the content is available. Start with the block your experience lights up best: the ramp-up is faster.

What the catalogue puts at your disposal

professional titles
72
skill blocks
360
months depending on the title
6–12

Income is kept during the transition.

programmes compatible with a job
19

Three entry points, by experience

You hold a field role

A level 4 or 5 title consolidates what you already do and attests to it. Moving up in responsibility then plays out at the next level.

You supervise a team

Level 6 targets steering: budget, method, trade-offs. Supervisory experience is its most solid prerequisite.

You are aiming for an executive role

Level 7 builds on confirmed experience. The application details the decisions you carried, and their scope.

Career-change questions

Can my experience validate part of the title?

Yes, through the recognition-of-prior-learning route. It is assessed block by block, on documents and interview, and results in a written decision. The guide devoted to the validation file details the seven steps.

How many hours a week must I hold?

From 8 to 20 hours of actual work depending on the programme, stated on each course page before enrolment. That is real work, not connection time: the figure is there so you can build your week in advance.

Do I need to leave my job to change career?

19 programmes out of 30 are designed to be followed while keeping your job, and 8 run self-paced. The pace is chosen at interview, based on your actual constraints.

Does the award name the occupation?

Yes. A professional title carries the name of the target occupation and the detail of validated blocks, which makes it immediately readable by an employer in the sector. The attached supplement states the study hours of each block.

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Applying to change career — Practical guides | IHETC — IHETC