Dangerous goods driver to cargo vehicle driver
A dangerous goods driver already meets 62% of what the cargo vehicle driver role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
38.8/ 100
1 How much of what a cargo vehicle driver is expected to do is already part of a dangerous goods driver’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 cargo vehicle driver role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A cargo vehicle driver role treats 11 of its required skills as things a dangerous goods driver already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- anticipate foreseeable problems on the road
- control the performance of the vehicle
- interpret traffic signals
- mechanical components of vehicles
- operate GPS systems
- parallel park vehicles
What stands in the way is 7 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A cargo vehicle driver role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a dangerous goods driver background worth leading with.
- already held parallel park vehicles working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held anticipate foreseeable problems on the road working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held practice emergency stops working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held vehicle cargo capacity services
- already held transport topography services
- already held manoeuvre heavy trucks working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 12 carried skills, including the 11 the cargo vehicle driver role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 7 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 road transport legislation required
- still to learn road traffic laws required
- still to learn supervise loading of cargo required
- still to learn supervise unloading of cargo required
- still to learn read maps required
- still to learn types of cargo required
- still to learn use communication devices required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a cargo vehicle driver role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 road transport legislation study this
- 02 supervise loading of cargo practise this
- 03 supervise unloading of cargo 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held anticipate foreseeable problems on the road skill
- already held control the performance of the vehicle skill
- already held interpret traffic signals skill
- already held mechanical components of vehicles knowledge
- already held operate GPS systems skill
- already held parallel park vehicles skill
- already held practice emergency stops skill
- already held stay alert skill
- already held transport topography knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held vehicle cargo capacity knowledge
- already held manoeuvre heavy trucks skill
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
10 held skills the cargo vehicle driver role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role check dangerous goods transport unit skill
- not needed by the target role hazards associated with loading dangerous goods knowledge
- not needed by the target role health and safety measures in transportation knowledge
- not needed by the target role international carriage of dangerous goods by road knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain gas mileage records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain logbooks skill
- not needed by the target role operate emergency equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform defensive driving skill
- not needed by the target role revise certifications for dangerous good transportation skill
- not needed by the target role transport dangerous goods skill
3 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 road transport legislation required
- still to learn types of cargo required
- still to learn road traffic laws required
Common questions about this move
Can a dangerous goods driver become a cargo vehicle driver?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A dangerous goods driver already covers 62% of what a cargo vehicle driver is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 11 of which the cargo vehicle driver role treats as required.
What skills does a dangerous goods driver need to become a cargo vehicle driver?
7 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is road transport legislation.
How hard is the move from dangerous goods driver to cargo vehicle driver?
Its learning distance is 38.8 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.