Mail clerk to postman/postwoman
A mail clerk already meets 40% of what the postman/postwoman role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.3/ 100
1 How much of what a postman/postwoman is expected to do is already part of a mail clerk’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 7 of its required skills as things a mail clerk already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- differentiate types of packages
- ensure the integrity of mail
- establish daily priorities
- handle mail
- maintain privacy of service users
- operate mailing information systems
What stands in the way is 9 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 8 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 mail clerk 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 handle mail management skills
- already held establish daily priorities management skills
All 8 carried skills, including the 7 the postman/postwoman role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 8 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 act reliably required
- still to learn execute working instructions required
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held respond to customers' inquiries optional
- still to learn implement environmental protection measures required
- still to learn interpret traffic signals required
- optional, not held secure sensitive customer's information optional
- still to learn road traffic laws required
- still to learn data protection required
- still to learn analyse travel alternatives required
- still to learn geographic areas required
2 further areas in the appendix
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 analyse travel alternatives practise this
- 02 data protection study this
- 03 use geographic information systems 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held differentiate types of packages skill
- already held ensure the integrity of mail skill
- already held establish daily priorities skill
- already held handle mail skill
- already held maintain privacy of service users skill
- already held operate mailing information systems skill
- already held organise mail deliveries skill
- already held apply information security policies skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn use geographic information systems required
- optional, not held drive in urban areas optional
- optional, not held drive two-wheeled vehicles optional
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held contact customers optional
- optional, not held drive in urban areas optional
- optional, not held drive two-wheeled vehicles optional
- optional, not held secure sensitive customer's information optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held respond to customers' inquiries optional
11 held skills the postman/postwoman role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role keep records of customer interaction skill
- not needed by the target role keep records of merchandise delivery skill
- not needed by the target role keep stock records skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role keep written records of cargo skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with transportation companies skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role record customers' personal data skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role work in a logistics team 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 data protection required
- still to learn geographic areas required
- still to learn road traffic laws required
Common questions about this move
Can a mail clerk become a postman/postwoman?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A mail clerk already covers 40% of what a postman/postwoman is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 7 of which the postman/postwoman role treats as required.
What skills does a mail clerk need to become a postman/postwoman?
9 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is analyse travel alternatives.
How hard is the move from mail clerk to postman/postwoman?
Its learning distance is 57.3 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.