Refuse collector to refuse vehicle driver
A refuse collector already meets 44% of what the refuse vehicle driver role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.7/ 100
1 How much of what a refuse vehicle driver is expected to do is already part of a refuse collector’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 refuse vehicle driver role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A refuse vehicle driver role treats 5 of its required skills as things a refuse collector already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- maintain waste collection records
- use personal protection equipment
- waste and scrap products
- waste management
- waste transport legislation
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 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A refuse vehicle driver role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a refuse collector background worth leading with.
- already held maintain refuse collection equipment constructing
- already held collect domestic waste handling and moving
- already held empty community waste collection bins handling and moving
- already held collect industrial waste handling and moving
- already held maintain waste collection records information skills
- already held waste transport legislation business, administration and law
All 13 carried skills, including the 5 the refuse vehicle driver role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 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 park vehicles in depot required
- still to learn drive vehicles required
- still to learn drive waste collection vehicle required
- still to learn manoeuvre heavy trucks required
- optional, not held drive in urban areas optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles in processions optional
- still to learn types of waste collection vehicles required
- optional, not held hazardous materials transportation optional
- still to learn adhere to transportation work schedule required
- still to learn manage waste rock required
- optional, not held road transport legislation optional
- optional, not held maintain septic tanks optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a refuse vehicle driver role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 park vehicles in depot practise this
- 02 adhere to transportation work schedule practise this
- 03 manage waste rock 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 maintain waste collection records skill
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
- already held waste and scrap products knowledge
- already held waste management knowledge
- already held waste transport legislation knowledge
- already held assess waste type skill
- already held collect domestic waste skill
- already held collect industrial waste skill
- already held dispose of hazardous waste skill
- already held dispose of non-hazardous waste skill
- already held empty community waste collection bins skill
- already held hazardous waste storage knowledge
- already held maintain refuse collection equipment skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held read maps optional
- optional, not held establish waste collection routes optional
- optional, not held operate GPS systems optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held drive in urban areas optional
- optional, not held drive vehicles in processions optional
- optional, not held establish waste collection routes optional
- optional, not held hazardous materials transportation optional
- optional, not held maintain septic tanks optional
- optional, not held road transport legislation optional
- optional, not held operate GPS systems optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
12 held skills the refuse vehicle driver role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role educate on recycling regulations skill
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role health, safety and hygiene legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify damage to public space skill
- not needed by the target role install recycling containers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain recycling records skill
- not needed by the target role manage waste skill
- not needed by the target role monitor civic recycling sites skill
- not needed by the target role operate recycling processing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
- not needed by the target role report pollution incidents skill
- not needed by the target role sort waste 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 types of waste collection vehicles required
- optional, not held hazardous materials transportation optional
- optional, not held road transport legislation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a refuse collector become a refuse vehicle driver?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A refuse collector already covers 44% of what a refuse vehicle driver is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 5 of which the refuse vehicle driver role treats as required.
What skills does a refuse collector need to become a refuse vehicle driver?
7 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is park vehicles in depot.
How hard is the move from refuse collector to refuse vehicle driver?
Its learning distance is 54.7 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.