Where does one acuire forklift license ?

threedee

Many manual jobs require some sort of machinery operator license. Where/how do i get forklift license sorted ? Dungannon/Cookstown area.

Hammyman

Your local Yellow Pages will have details of training companies. Should be around £500 or so or it was the last time I looked.

Be aware though that there are two types of licence, reach and counterbalance. You cannot drive a reach truck if you only have a counterbalance ticket.

threedee

What i'm interested in is who issues licenses not who trains, i have plenty of experience actually driving a forklift (warehouse sort of small one), but need to make it "official"...

Also, like i'm going to shell out 500 quid for a license having somewhat tight money as it is. (just saying.)

Need to get the info on who examines/issues papers and go get the license...

OneCar

Fork lift licences aren't transferable anyway. If you got one with an employer, you'd have to get another if you changed jobs.

Better to note all your experience for your CV, then if an employer is looking for someone who can drive a forklift, they would know you would probably only need minimal training.

Copied this from an ehow page. Not allowed to post links as I'm a new member:

Transferability.

Because work environments vary from place to place, forklift operators must be certified by the employer when they start a new job. If the operator previously drove a forklift in a work setting, the training may be completed more quickly than the first time he was certified, but he must be trained in the new employment environment.

If he was trained by a school or other third-party trainer, the employer must still certify him to operate the forklift in the work environment.

hayton2k3

what £500? LOLOLOLOLOL
i have been offered it many times for FREE i just cant be bothered to do it because forklift jobs near me say must have relevent forklift experience.

kwaks

hayton2k3 wrote: »

what £500? LOLOLOLOLOL
i have been offered it many times for FREE i just cant be bothered to do it because forklift jobs near me say must have relevent forklift experience.

?? so you wouldn't apply to a job asking for relevent forklift experience because you only held a licence and no experience?


No need for a glass ceiling for you, you create your own.

dickydonkin

OneCar wrote: »

Fork lift licences aren't transferable anyway. If you got one with an employer, you'd have to get another if you changed jobs.

Better to note all your experience for your CV, then if an employer is looking for someone who can drive a forklift, they would know you would probably only need minimal training.

Copied this from an ehow page. Not allowed to post links as I'm a new member:

Transferability.

Because work environments vary from place to place, forklift operators must be certified by the employer when they start a new job. If the operator previously drove a forklift in a work setting, the training may be completed more quickly than the first time he was certified, but he must be trained in the new employment environment.

If he was trained by a school or other third-party trainer, the employer must still certify him to operate the forklift in the work environment.

If you are trained 'in house' by accredited instructors who are also fellow employees, in general, the certificate you receive will only usually entitle you to drive a truck for that employer.

If you are trained and certificated by an RTITB accredited external organisation (or similar), then that is generally accepted as a universal standard and should allow you to operate a FLT anywhere, although there could be site specific additional requirements and many employers will also require a three yearly refresher course.

There may also be a requirement to undergo a basic medical and a need to notify of any illnesses - certainly that was the case with my former employer.

I would suspect that many smaller organisations will not be as stringent, however, some training and certification should be a requirement to avoid any issues should something go belly up such as an accident.

What i'm interested in is who issues licenses not who trains, i have plenty of experience actually driving a forklift (warehouse sort of small one), but need to make it "official"...

Your employer is certainly treading on dodgy ground here.

Irrespective of how much 'experience' you have, should you and your forktruck be involved in any incident, the lack of suitable and sufficient training for driving a fork truck will likely end up being a costly affair. I have seen it many times where small companies who do not provide FLT training have been fined heavily for accidents involving untrained drivers. - not to mention the suffering caused - Claims companies such as this one will hover like vultures around companies like yours.

You should ask for suitable training from your employer -they are legally bound to provide it!

stef73

OneCar wrote: »

Fork lift licences aren't transferable anyway. If you got one with an employer, you'd have to get another if you changed jobs.

Better to note all your experience for your CV, then if an employer is looking for someone who can drive a forklift, they would know you would probably only need minimal training.

Copied this from an ehow page. Not allowed to post links as I'm a new member:

Transferability.

Because work environments vary from place to place, forklift operators must be certified by the employer when they start a new job. If the operator previously drove a forklift in a work setting, the training may be completed more quickly than the first time he was certified, but he must be trained in the new employment environment.

If he was trained by a school or other third-party trainer, the employer must still certify him to operate the forklift in the work environment.

I have driven forklifts (with licence) for over 20 years . When i have changed jobs i just gave in my licence to new employers . My licence is in my name not a companies name so i dont understand how they are not transferable between jobs . I also know of agency fork lift workers they dont have to be retested at every job they go to .

dickydonkin

stef73 wrote: »

I have driven forklifts (with licence) for over 20 years . When i have changed jobs i just gave in my licence to new employers . My licence is in my name not a companies name so i dont understand how they are not transferable between jobs . I also know of agency fork lift workers they dont have to be retested at every job they go to .

Thats right - Obviously, any new employee should be asked if they are familiar with the type of truck that they will be using and if not, a brief test drive should determine competence - although this would have likely been raised at the interview stage.

There may also be some 'site specific' training that may be required for new employees such as familiarising the new FLT driver with the types of products they will be shifting around and highlighting any potential pitfalls.

Fail to provide inductions, training, monitoring and supervision at your peril. Fork trucks are lethal in the wrong hands.

liney

FLT training companies who are RTITB, or otherwise, accredited are the people who are allowed to issue a license. These people will not issue a license without ensuring your competence, which, arguably because they want to charge full fee, or arguably because they want the best possible understanding of Health and Safety, you will need to be pay for a short course. Once you have obtained your license it is recommended that you do a refresher course every 3 years which is cheaper, but you need to hold a full license obtained via the proper full length course before you do a refresher.

Come companies request RTITB to only issue an In house license. This means that they are training, and paying, only for people to drive on their premises, and does not allow the employee to train with them then leave to work elsewhere with the license they have paid for. If your license has an RTITB (or equivalent), registration number, and no mention of "inhouse" or "permitted to drive at" you should be able to drive anywhere: You can call RTITB yourself and quote the number if you want to check personally if there are restrictions.

Refreshers are a recommendation, but not legally required, however it may be in the terms of a company's insurance, or their company policy that driver must pass an inhouse test or have a RTITB less than 3 years old.

Hammyman

threedee wrote: »

What i'm interested in is who issues licenses not who trains, i have plenty of experience actually driving a forklift (warehouse sort of small one), but need to make it "official"...

Also, like i'm going to shell out 500 quid for a license having somewhat tight money as it is. (just saying.)

Need to get the info on who examines/issues papers and go get the license...

THE TRAINING COMPANIES. And you're not going to just jump on one and pass the test. Its not just a practical exam BTW....