Forklift Driver Licencing Requirements

The first thing to get out of the way is to understand that there is no formal licencing authority for forklift drivers. There is no official licence to be issued either. Some industry experts contend that formal forklift training is required by law, others maintain it is a matter of individual choice.

The confusion is directly related to a single paragraph found in the 1974 Safety and Work Act that states:
“The provision of such information, instruction, training, and supervision as is necessary to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of all his employees.”

The paragraph is vague, at best, but it does indicate that employers have a legal responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure safety at work. And because UK courts would generally rule that providing forklift training is both reasonable and practical, the paragraph effectively makes some form of training necessary for forklift drivers. The only questions remaining are how formal the training should be and whether or not certification should be provided.

The industry has worked with the government to develop training courses and certification schemes that remove all ambiguity and confusion from the equation. For all intents and purposes, working as a forklift driver means undergoing training, whether in-house or through a company like ours, culminating with a forklift certificate.

In the UK, there are six accrediting organisations approved by the Health and Safety Executive:

CITB
Lantra Awards
Association of Industrial Truck Trainers (AITT)
National Plant Operators Registration Scheme Ltd
Road Transport Industry Training Board (RTITB) Ltd
Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register (ITSSAR)

All training providers, including the HGV Training Centre, offer forklift training courses according to the standards of at least one of the approved accrediting organisations. Certificates issued to drivers reflect the standards of the appropriate organisation whose credentials appear on those certificates.