Refuse vehicle driver to sorter labourer
A refuse vehicle driver already meets 28% of what the sorter labourer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
64.2/ 100
1 How much of what a sorter labourer 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 sorter labourer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A sorter labourer role treats 3 of its required skills as things a refuse vehicle driver already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess waste type
- waste and scrap products
- waste management
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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sorter labourer 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 assess waste type handling and moving
- already held waste and scrap products services
- already held waste management services
- already held hazardous waste storage services
- already held dispose of non-hazardous waste handling and moving
- already held dispose of hazardous waste handling and moving
All 7 carried skills, including the 3 the sorter labourer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 store sorted waste required
- still to learn handle chemical cleaning agents required
- still to learn manage waste required
- still to learn sort waste required
- optional, not held drain hazardous liquids optional
- optional, not held remove contaminants optional
- optional, not held stack goods optional
- still to learn operate recycling processing equipment required
- optional, not held operate forklift optional
- still to learn communicate with waste collectors required
- still to learn health, safety and hygiene legislation required
- optional, not held electronics principles optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
- optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
- optional, not held assess contamination optional
- optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a sorter labourer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 store sorted waste practise this
- 02 communicate with waste collectors practise this
- 03 handle chemical cleaning agents 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 assess waste type skill
- already held waste and scrap products knowledge
- already held waste management knowledge
- already held dispose of hazardous waste skill
- already held dispose of non-hazardous waste skill
- already held hazardous waste storage knowledge
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held avoid contamination optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations optional
- optional, not held maintain sorting equipment optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held drain hazardous liquids optional
- optional, not held electronics principles optional
- optional, not held maintain sorting equipment optional
- optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
- optional, not held assess contamination optional
- optional, not held avoid contamination optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations optional
- optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
- optional, not held operate forklift optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
- optional, not held remove contaminants optional
- optional, not held stack goods optional
21 held skills the sorter labourer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to transportation work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role collect domestic waste skill
- not needed by the target role collect industrial waste 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 empty community waste collection bins skill
- not needed by the target role establish waste collection routes skill
- not needed by the target role hazardous materials transportation 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 maintain waste collection records 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 waste transport legislation knowledge
4 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 health, safety and hygiene legislation required
- optional, not held electronics principles optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
Common questions about this move
Can a refuse vehicle driver become a sorter labourer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A refuse vehicle driver already covers 28% of what a sorter labourer is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 3 of which the sorter labourer role treats as required.
What skills does a refuse vehicle driver need to become a sorter labourer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is store sorted waste.
How hard is the move from refuse vehicle driver to sorter labourer?
Its learning distance is 64.2 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.