Refuse vehicle driver to solid waste operator
A refuse vehicle driver already meets 33% of what the solid waste operator role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.8/ 100
1 How much of what a solid waste operator is expected to do is already part of a refuse vehicle 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 solid waste operator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A solid waste operator role treats 4 of its required skills as things a refuse vehicle driver already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess waste type
- dispose of non-hazardous waste
- waste and scrap products
- waste management
What stands in the way is 10 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 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A solid waste operator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a refuse vehicle driver background worth leading with.
- 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 establish waste collection routes management skills
- already held maintain waste collection records information skills
- already held waste transport legislation business, administration and law
All 11 carried skills, including the 4 the solid waste operator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 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 control delivered waste required
- still to learn test samples for pollutants required
- still to learn maintain recycling records required
- optional, not held inspect recycling procedures optional
- optional, not held monitor civic recycling sites optional
- still to learn communicate with waste collectors required
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held advise on waste management procedures optional
- still to learn ensure compliance with environmental legislation required
- still to learn ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations required
- still to learn monitor waste treatment equipment required
- still to learn ensure equipment availability required
- still to learn operate recycling processing equipment required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a solid waste operator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 control delivered waste practise this
- 02 monitor waste treatment equipment practise this
- 03 test samples for pollutants 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 11 skills that carry over
- already held assess waste type skill
- already held dispose of non-hazardous waste skill
- already held waste and scrap products knowledge
- already held waste management knowledge
- already held collect domestic waste skill
- already held collect industrial waste skill
- already held dispose of hazardous waste skill
- already held empty community waste collection bins skill
- already held establish waste collection routes skill
- already held maintain waste collection records skill
- already held waste transport legislation knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held install recycling containers optional
- optional, not held remove debris optional
- optional, not held store sorted waste optional
- optional, not held sort waste optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste types optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held inspect recycling procedures optional
- optional, not held install recycling containers optional
- optional, not held monitor civic recycling sites optional
- optional, not held remove debris optional
- optional, not held store sorted waste optional
- optional, not held advise on waste management procedures optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste types optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
- optional, not held sort waste optional
17 held skills the solid waste operator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to transportation work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role drive in urban areas skill
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role drive vehicles in processions skill
- not needed by the target role drive waste collection vehicle skill
- not needed by the target role hazardous materials transportation knowledge
- not needed by the target role hazardous waste storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain refuse collection equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain septic tanks skill
- not needed by the target role manage waste rock skill
- not needed by the target role manoeuvre heavy trucks skill
- not needed by the target role operate GPS systems skill
- not needed by the target role park vehicles in depot skill
- not needed by the target role read maps skill
- not needed by the target role road transport legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of waste collection vehicles knowledge
- not needed by the target role use personal protection equipment skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held hazardous waste types optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
Other moves recorded from refuse vehicle driver
Common questions about this move
Can a refuse vehicle driver become a solid waste operator?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A refuse vehicle driver already covers 33% of what a solid waste operator is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 4 of which the solid waste operator role treats as required.
What skills does a refuse vehicle driver need to become a solid waste operator?
10 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is control delivered waste.
How hard is the move from refuse vehicle driver to solid waste operator?
Its learning distance is 63.8 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.