A skill set is a combination of abilities, qualities and experiences that you can draw upon to perform tasks to the best of your ability. These can include “soft skills” such as interpersonal adaptability, creativity, good communication skills, leadership and teamwork and more. Spending some time improving these skills can help you achieve your personal career goals. It might be a way to earn a promotion or even get a job in the first place. Any skills you have and develop can help you to progress in your current career or branch out and achieve a job in a different field or industry.
Job specific, more technical skills are the capabilities you use to perform a task related to a specific job and may include mathematical skills, a language, driving, literacy for example. These are also invaluable resources when it comes to career progression. Read on to discover how much developing your work skills can help those in HGV driving jobs.
How Should I Develop My Work Skills?
The easiest way to improve your employment and promotional prospects is to develop the types of skills mentioned above, the ones that you use to perform your job daily. All businesses are in competition with others, as are their employees, who are learning new skills daily and could quite easily fill your shoes should the opportunity arise. The bottom line is that employment is competitive. You must continue to improve your work skills in order to compete with workers at your own company as well as those elsewhere.
This is why it is always a good idea to continue to develop your professional skills regardless of whether you have worked for the same employer for years, you are seeking promotion or even looking for a job elsewhere. No one else can manage your career progression as well as you.
Here are a few examples of ways in which you can develop your work skills as an HGV driver.
Become More Familiar With Technology
- Know how to use the technology specific to your sector.
- Be able to use the Internet effectively.
- Seek training and courses on your sector’s most commonly used software.
- Take advantage of any training offered by your employer on computers or other equipment.
Those employed in HGV driving jobs cover over 16 billion miles on British roads every year and there are around 600,000 HGV-licensed drivers currently registered in the UK. Truckers with decades of experience might worry that new technology might interfere with their job prospects but in reality, a simple training process helps drivers very quickly adapt to the use of new in-cab visual displays, ADAS and audio warning alarms, and find them an invaluable aid in helping to advance their career opportunities.
When searching for a ‘driving agency near me’ lookout for A&S Recruitment. We have an impressive track record of providing recruitment services to the haulage & logistics sector and have been finding the best candidates for driving vacancies since 2010.
Increase your Knowledge
- Are there any further qualifications or training opportunities you could take to increase your employability?
- If you cannot study through work, many college programs offer part-time or evening classes.
There are a number of training courses or accreditation schemes designed to give those in HGV driving jobs a boost to their career. For example, FORS is a voluntary accreditation scheme that promotes best practice for commercial vehicle operators. With more than 4,600 members, FORS is gaining recognition as the transport industry’s go-to accreditation scheme.
Additional professional development has a profound impact on an HGV drivers career, for instance, they can perform more challenging tasks faster, increasing productivity. Furthermore, by increasing your skills and gaining further qualifications makes you a more valuable employee. Increasing your skill set demonstrates that you are committed to your work and ambitious.
Stay Relevant
- Pay attention to developments within your career field.
- Always be open to learn how to do your job better.
- Look out for new information about technologies.
- Joining a trade or professional association.
HGV Drivers are often hailed as the backbone of the logistics industry. Without drivers, nothing would get delivered. Life would be much harder than it is. However, despite being an incredibly important part of any product-based business, there is a shortage of skilled HGV drivers and has been for some years.
This has led to more demand than ever for skilled drivers since delivery demands are only growing. Drivers that are clearly more productive than others are incredibly valuable assets for a business and should be rewarded for their efforts.
Finally
Increasing your skill set is about having the right attitude and showing people that you are one of the best. The most productive workers become irreplaceable assets to a business in an industry that is desperate for better and more reliable drivers than ever before. This all opens up roads to better paid work for you.
When searching for ‘a driving agency near me’, consider A&S Recruitment. We really appreciate the skills you have worked hard for and we also have unparalleled knowledge and insight when it comes to the market. We have been working with companies in the import and export world for more than 30 years and are proud of the network we have built up. As a result, we are often the first to hear about job opportunities as soon as they arise.