Forklift driving is a skill that’s highly sought after in many fields. Indeed, forklift operators are becoming increasingly highly sought-after by commercial businesses and for development projects.
Just a few examples of fields that require staff with forklift expertise include mining, construction, warehouse management, and retail, to name a few. Indeed, the contributions of skilled forklift operators are playing a pivotal role in ensuring the safe running of many business and commercial premises.
Finding Forklift Operator Staff Can be Hard
The value of staff members who hold a forklift driving license is becoming ever more apparent for the Australian workforce. To this end, many commercial businesses are on the hunt for skilled staff to fill their forklift operator jobs.
However, finding experienced staff can often be a challenge for Australian businesses. To offset this difficulty, a growing number of firms are turning to professional labour hire teams, such as ours here at Fast Labour Hire, to find experienced and licensed staff to work on their premises. If you would like to find out more, check out our detailed article about what is labour hire.
The Main Duties of Forklift Driving Jobs
Forklift driving jobs generally have multiple duties within the business. Their contributions are essential to ensure that the firm is run safely and efficiently. Indeed, forklift drivers are often responsible for heavy jobs that would require a great deal of manpower and time to achieve.
Some of the primary duties for forklift drivers include the following:
- Loading and offloading deliveries
- Moving stock to relevant storage areas
- Transporting stock to processing and dispatch areas
- Monitoring stock inventory and activity logs
Skills Required to be a Forklift Driver
What skills does a forklift driver require? Indeed, being a forklift driver is more than just driving machines around all day. And, to this end, you will need to have numerous skills to complete the job successfully, alongside the ability to drive a forklift safely.
Computer Skills
Computer skills will almost always be vital. Forklift operators often need to work with stock management systems and the like, which requires some computer proficiency level.
Of course, a forklift operator doesn’t need a degree in information technology, but knowing the basics of how to use computer systems – and preferably experience working with stock management software – will be beneficial.
Spatial Awareness and a Safety-Minded Perspective
Spatial awareness, attention to detail, and having a safety-minded perspective are essential skills for forklift operators. Because of the nature of forklifts, these machines can be potentially dangerous if operated by someone who isn’t able to pay close attention to detail to their surroundings. Moreover, being aware of good safety protocols can help forklift operators ensure they are working safely and productively. For more information, check out our article about 17 key forklift safety tips to avoid injuries.
Customer Service Experience
Often, customer service skills may also be required for forklift operators working in a retail environment. Many retail settings will allow customers to approach the forklift driver to request a specific product or ask for assistance with loading their purchase. To ensure that customers have a good experience with the firm, forklift operators must employ good customer service skills if working in this environment.
Do Operators Require a License?
At this point, you might be wondering whether your staff members need to hold a license for driving a forklift. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer to this is yes: individuals need to be licensed and must have passed a forklift driving test before it is legal for them to operate a forklift.
Forklifts are heavy-duty machinery. Indeed, they can cause a great deal of damage if mishandled. To this end, we cannot stress the importance of licensing highly enough for safety, as well as the legal responsibility to hire licensed forklift operators.
LF vs. LO Forklift Driving Licenses
There are two licensing options for forklift operators. These are LF class licenses (forklift trucks) and LO class licenses (order picking forklift trucks). But how do these classes of forklift driving licenses differ?
The most notable difference between LF and LO licenses is the range of vehicles these allow an operator to drive. Indeed, from a commercial perspective, most businesses will choose LF licenses since these cover a wider array of vehicle types. In contrast, LO licenses are more limited in their applicability. Nonetheless, an individual can apply for both an LF and LO license, giving them the broadest range of abilities to drive forklift machinery.
Conclusion
Forklifts play a crucial role in many businesses, with applications from building sites to retail warehouses and more.
However, finding the right staff to fill these roles can sometimes be a challenge; furthermore, many businesses will only require a forklift at certain times (for example, at the start of building work to offload and move supplies to their relevant destinations).
To this end, hiring forklift driving staff may offer a unique opportunity for many businesses as an alternative to hiring a full-time operator.
To find out more about hiring a forklift operator and the benefits this can offer for your business, contact us here at Fast Labour Hire today; we’re here to help you find the ideal solution!
