Forklift driver
The ticket that pays for itself fastest in this trade. A day or two of training separates a picker from a forklift driver, and the gap shows up in the hourly rate every week afterwards.
Also called: FLT driver, counterbalance driver, reach truck driver, VNA driver
What it pays
£24,000 to £32,000 a year, or £12.21 to £16 an hour. Counterbalance is the base rate, reach pays more, and VNA on a high bay site pays most of all. Nights usually add 20 to 25 per cent.
The hours
Usually 37.5 to 45 hours on shifts. Four on four off and permanent nights are both common and both pay a premium.
How you get in
- A recognised forklift ticket, which takes one to five days
- No formal qualifications beyond that
- Most sites want some warehouse experience first
The tickets and qualifications employers ask for
Counterbalance (RTITB, ITSSAR or AITT) Reach truck, which is the one most often asked for VNA or high level order picker for tall racking Bendi or Flexi, which are a separate ticket again
What you should not be paying for
Many employers pay for the ticket once you are past probation, and some agencies will fund it against your first weeks of work. Ask before you pay £250 of your own money for one. A ticket is valid for three years and then needs a refresher.
What people like about it
- One short course lifts your hourly rate for good
- Ticketed drivers are the last people a site lets go
- Reach and VNA are in short supply almost everywhere
What is genuinely hard
- Your ticket is site specific in practice: a new employer will usually want to see you drive before they trust you on their racking
- It expires, and an out of date ticket is the same as no ticket
- Cold stores, and long shifts sat in one position
Where it leads
- VNA or high bay specialist
- Team leader or shift supervisor
- Stock control and inventory
- Warehouse manager
No live adverts for this trade today
We would rather say so than show you something else. Set an alert and you will hear the moment one goes up, or search the whole board.
Search anyway