Forklift operator to materials handler
A forklift operator already meets 20% of what the materials handler role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
79.6/ 100
1 How much of what a materials handler is expected to do is already part of a forklift operator’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 materials handler role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A materials handler role treats 5 of its required skills as things a forklift operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow stock control instructions
- operate warehouse materials
- pick orders for dispatching
- stack goods
- use different communication channels
What stands in the way is 17 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A materials handler role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a forklift operator background worth leading with.
- already held follow stock control instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use barcode scanning equipment handling and moving
- already held pick orders for dispatching handling and moving
- already held operate warehouse materials working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held shunt inbound loads working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held stack goods handling and moving
All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the materials handler role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 9 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 dispatch order processing required
- still to learn load heavy items on pallets required
- still to learn pallets loading required
- still to learn use warehouse marking tools required
- still to learn dispose of non-hazardous waste required
- still to learn maintain stock control systems required
- still to learn secure goods required
- still to learn sort waste required
- optional, not held transport construction supplies optional
- optional, not held assemble goods optional
- optional, not held clean warehouse optional
- optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
- optional, not held pack goods optional
- still to learn operate warehouse record systems required
- still to learn process incoming construction supplies required
- still to learn inspect construction supplies required
- optional, not held check compatibility of materials optional
- optional, not held calculate needs for construction supplies optional
- still to learn maintain physical condition of warehouse required
- still to learn implement efficiency plans for logistics operations required
- optional, not held follow written instructions optional
- optional, not held order construction supplies optional
- still to learn products coding system required
- still to learn inventory management rules required
- optional, not held road transport legislation optional
- still to learn follow health and safety procedures in construction required
- optional, not held handle fragile items optional
- still to learn manage warehouse inventory required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a materials handler role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 dispatch order processing practise this
- 02 load heavy items on pallets practise this
- 03 maintain physical condition of warehouse 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held follow stock control instructions skill
- already held operate warehouse materials skill
- already held pick orders for dispatching skill
- already held stack goods skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held shunt inbound loads skill
- already held use barcode scanning equipment skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held hazardous materials transportation optional
- optional, not held safety regulations for warehouses optional
- optional, not held freight transport methods optional
- optional, not held operate GPS systems optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held check compatibility of materials optional
- optional, not held handle fragile items optional
- optional, not held hazardous materials transportation optional
- optional, not held road transport legislation optional
- optional, not held safety regulations for warehouses optional
- optional, not held transport construction supplies optional
- optional, not held assemble goods optional
- optional, not held calculate needs for construction supplies optional
- optional, not held clean warehouse optional
- optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles optional
- optional, not held follow written instructions optional
- optional, not held freight transport methods optional
- optional, not held operate GPS systems optional
- optional, not held order construction supplies optional
- optional, not held pack goods optional
34 held skills the materials handler role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act reliably skill
- not needed by the target role apply company policies skill
- not needed by the target role apply techniques for stacking goods into containers skill
- not needed by the target role carry out stock rotation skill
- not needed by the target role conduct forklift inspections skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role estimate distances skill
- not needed by the target role execute vehicle maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role execute working instructions skill
- not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
- not needed by the target role follow signalling instructions skill
- not needed by the target role follow verbal instructions skill
- not needed by the target role follow work procedures skill
- not needed by the target role lift heavy weights skill
- not needed by the target role maintain equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain warehouse database skill
- not needed by the target role match goods with appropriate packaging according to security procedures skill
- not needed by the target role meet picking standards skill
- not needed by the target role monitor goods movement skill
- not needed by the target role monitor vehicle repairs skill
- not needed by the target role operate forklift skill
- not needed by the target role operate package processing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate radio equipment skill
- not needed by the target role prepare shipments in time skill
- not needed by the target role stack empty pallets skill
- not needed by the target role stay alert skill
- not needed by the target role store warehouse goods skill
- not needed by the target role transfer stock skill
- not needed by the target role transport dangerous goods skill
- not needed by the target role types of packaging used in industrial shipments knowledge
- not needed by the target role use a warehouse management system skill
- not needed by the target role use telescopic handlers skill
- not needed by the target role weigh materials skill
- not needed by the target role work in a logistics team skill
6 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 products coding system required
- still to learn inventory management rules required
- optional, not held hazardous materials transportation optional
- optional, not held road transport legislation optional
- optional, not held safety regulations for warehouses optional
- optional, not held freight transport methods optional
Common questions about this move
Can a forklift operator become a materials handler?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A forklift operator already covers 20% of what a materials handler is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the materials handler role treats as required.
What skills does a forklift operator need to become a materials handler?
17 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is dispatch order processing.
How hard is the move from forklift operator to materials handler?
Its learning distance is 79.6 out of 100, which is the career change 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.