Forklift licenses are an important thing to have when getting into the warehousing business. These allow you to operate the machinery necessary to move pallets, other machinery and things that you can’t carry with just manpower. There are many different levels of training ranging from novice to refresher courses and a variety of categories for the license as well. These categories are: Industrial counterbalance, rider operated fork truck, side loader, narrow aisle and order picker, rough terrain forklift, telescopic handler truck, multidirectional fork truck, and container handler forklift.
The different categories apply to the different areas you could be working. As an example, the Container Handler Forklift is found mainly in shipping ports where the container handler is used to move and remove containers, the Rider Operated Fork Truck is electric and used primarily indoors. In a warehouse setting you will need the Rider Operated Fork Truck as this is what’s used to move objects from shelf to shelf, section to section, and out for delivery.
This is also one of the most common licenses to get and courses are offered everywhere. The courses themselves can range from 1 to 5 days. This depends on the level of training you wish to go for and how many are in the training group. You have to contact a training center near you where they will get you set up and ready for the classroom lecture part of the course, the forklift practical and hopefully the receiving of your certificate.
Your starting salary as a forklift operator will start from £15,000 to £17,000 but can increase with experience. The forklift license is important because it means that you are able to handle the machinery at the warehouse and are aiming for an accident-free workplace. Getting a forklift license may seem difficult at first, but it is really quite simple and can help you obtain a higher paying job in a great warehouse.