Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Street sweeper to refuse collector

A street sweeper already meets 39% of what the refuse collector role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From street sweeper
39 % overlap
Distant match
To refuse collector
9 You already bring
5 Still to learn
25 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

55.7/ 100

1 How much of what a refuse collector is expected to do is already part of a street sweeper’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 collector role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A refuse collector role treats 4 of its required skills as things a street sweeper already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • health, safety and hygiene legislation
  • maintain waste collection records
  • manage waste
  • waste management

What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A refuse collector role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a street sweeper background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held empty community waste collection bins handling and moving
  • already held maintain waste collection records information skills
  • already held waste transport legislation business, administration and law
  • already held waste management services
  • already held manage waste handling and moving
  • already held sort waste handling and moving

All 9 carried skills, including the 4 the refuse collector role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 16 missing skills fall into 7 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 handling and moving 3 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn assess waste type required
  • still to learn collect domestic waste required
  • still to learn collect industrial waste required
  • optional, not held install recycling containers optional
  • optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held dispose of non-hazardous waste optional
02 services 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn waste and scrap products required
  • optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
03 constructing 1 required
  • still to learn maintain refuse collection equipment required
04 information skills 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held identify damage to public space optional
  • optional, not held monitor civic recycling sites optional
  • optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
  • optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held educate on recycling regulations optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held pollution prevention optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a refuse collector role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 9 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held health, safety and hygiene legislation knowledge
  • already held maintain waste collection records skill
  • already held manage waste skill
  • already held waste management knowledge
  • already held empty community waste collection bins skill
  • already held handle chemical cleaning agents skill
  • already held sort waste skill
  • already held use personal protection equipment skill
  • already held waste transport legislation knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate recycling processing equipment optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held educate on recycling regulations optional
  • optional, not held identify damage to public space optional
  • optional, not held install recycling containers optional
  • optional, not held monitor civic recycling sites optional
  • optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
  • optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held dispose of non-hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
  • optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
  • optional, not held operate recycling processing equipment optional
  • optional, not held pollution prevention optional
52 held skills the refuse collector role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role adapt to different weather conditions skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out cleaning of road drains skill
  • not needed by the target role carry out pressure washing activities skill
  • not needed by the target role clean amusement park facilities skill
  • not needed by the target role clean building floors skill
  • not needed by the target role clean confined spaces skill
  • not needed by the target role clean equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role clean particular areas manually skill
  • not needed by the target role clean public areas skill
  • not needed by the target role clean public furniture skill
  • not needed by the target role clean sewerage systems skill
  • not needed by the target role cleaning industry health and safety measures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cleaning products knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cleaning techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role clear out drains skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with waste treatment facilities skill
  • not needed by the target role complete report sheets of activity skill
  • not needed by the target role discharge of collected waste knowledge
  • not needed by the target role disinfect surfaces skill
  • not needed by the target role drive vehicles skill
  • not needed by the target role drive waste collection vehicle skill
  • not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure equipment maintenance skill
  • not needed by the target role establish waste collection routes skill
  • not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
  • not needed by the target role graffiti removal techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role local geography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role maintain a safe, hygienic and secure working environment skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain cleaning equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain ground skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain inventory of cleaning supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards when cleaning skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain street sweeping machine skill
  • not needed by the target role manage routine waste skill
  • not needed by the target role manage waste rock skill
  • not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role operate mechanical street sweeping equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role operate motorised street sweeping machine skill
  • not needed by the target role perform cleaning activities in an environmentally friendly way skill

12 further entries not listed here

3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn waste and scrap products required
  • optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
  • optional, not held pollution prevention optional
Index

Other moves recorded from street sweeper

Full index of moves from street sweeper

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a street sweeper become a refuse collector?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A street sweeper already covers 39% of what a refuse collector is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 4 of which the refuse collector role treats as required.

What skills does a street sweeper need to become a refuse collector?

5 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is assess waste type.

How hard is the move from street sweeper to refuse collector?

Its learning distance is 55.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.