Bicycle courier to postman/postwoman
A bicycle courier already meets 60% of what the postman/postwoman role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
40/ 100
1 How much of what a postman/postwoman is expected to do is already part of a bicycle courier’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the postman/postwoman role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A postman/postwoman role treats 10 of its required skills as things a bicycle courier already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- act reliably
- analyse travel alternatives
- differentiate types of packages
- ensure the integrity of mail
- geographic areas
- handle mail
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A postman/postwoman role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a bicycle courier background worth leading with.
- already held operate mailing information systems information skills
- already held ensure the integrity of mail handling and moving
- already held organise mail deliveries management skills
- already held differentiate types of packages handling and moving
- already held drive two-wheeled vehicles working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held analyse travel alternatives information skills
All 13 carried skills, including the 10 the postman/postwoman role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn implement environmental protection measures required
- still to learn maintain privacy of service users required
- optional, not held apply information security policies optional
- optional, not held secure sensitive customer's information optional
- still to learn execute working instructions required
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held respond to customers' inquiries optional
- still to learn data protection required
- still to learn establish daily priorities required
- still to learn use geographic information systems required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a postman/postwoman role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 data protection study this
- 02 use geographic information systems practise this
- 03 establish daily priorities practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held act reliably skill
- already held analyse travel alternatives skill
- already held differentiate types of packages skill
- already held ensure the integrity of mail skill
- already held geographic areas knowledge
- already held handle mail skill
- already held interpret traffic signals skill
- already held operate mailing information systems skill
- already held organise mail deliveries skill
- already held road traffic laws knowledge
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held drive in urban areas skill
- already held drive two-wheeled vehicles skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply information security policies optional
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held secure sensitive customer's information optional
- optional, not held respond to customers' inquiries optional
9 held skills the postman/postwoman role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role check deliveries on receipt skill
- not needed by the target role follow written instructions skill
- not needed by the target role handle delivered packages skill
- not needed by the target role handle delivery of furniture goods skill
- not needed by the target role handle fragile items skill
- not needed by the target role obey traffic rules skill
- not needed by the target role operate GPS systems skill
- not needed by the target role process payments skill
- not needed by the target role solve location and navigation problems by using GPS tools skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn data protection required
Common questions about this move
Can a bicycle courier become a postman/postwoman?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A bicycle courier already covers 60% of what a postman/postwoman is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 10 of which the postman/postwoman role treats as required.
What skills does a bicycle courier need to become a postman/postwoman?
6 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is data protection.
How hard is the move from bicycle courier to postman/postwoman?
Its learning distance is 40 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.