jobfacts

Fork-lift truck drivers

SOC 2020 8222

Fork-lift truck drivers operate fork-lift trucks in factories, warehouses, storerooms and other areas to transfer goods and materials.

Also calledFork-lift driverScale car driverSide loader driverFork lift truck operatorForklift truck operatorFork truck operatorand 20 more titles
Typical full-time pay£31,3002025 Provisional
People in the job80,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,600↑ 4.9%on last year · 116th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time fork-lift truck drivers earn between £26,600 and £38,900 a year.

What full-time fork-lift truck drivers earn, 2025
£31,300 typical£24,000lowest 10%£40,000top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£26,600–£38,900)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£24,000
Lowest 20% earn less than£26,100
25%£26,600
Median£31,300
75%£38,900
Top 20% earn more than£40,000
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £31,300
South West!£40,800
Scotland£34,800
South East!£34,000
East of England!£31,300
North West!£29,700
West Midlands!£28,100
Yorkshire and The Humber!£27,200
East Midlands!£25,700
North EastNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £31,300
South West£40,800 (small sample)
Scotland£34,800
South East£34,000 (small sample)
East of England£31,300 (small sample)
North West£29,700 (small sample)
West Midlands£28,100 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£27,200 (small sample)
East Midlands£25,700 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £27,200
  • 2024 £28,900
  • 2025 Provisional£31,300
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,600 jobs for fork-lift truck drivers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,682
Jul 20261,845
Jun 20261,534
May 20261,444
Apr 20261,465
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,599
Jan 20261,700
Dec 2025825
Nov 20251,863
Oct 20252,019
Sept 20251,905
Aug 20251,986
Jul 2025Not published
Jun 2025Not published
May 20252,001
Apr 20251,492
Mar 20251,558
Feb 20251,639
Jan 20251,299
Dec 2024687
Nov 20241,248
Oct 20241,696
Sept 20241,775
Aug 20241,726
Jul 20241,715
Jun 20241,623
May 20241,719
Apr 20241,438
Mar 2024971
Feb 2024997
Jan 20241,203
Dec 2023716
Nov 20231,081
Oct 20231,134
Sept 20231,212
Aug 20231,334
Jul 20231,420
Jun 20231,949
May 20231,586
Apr 20231,391
Mar 20231,556
Feb 20231,481
Jan 20231,655
Dec 20221,507
Nov 20222,184
Oct 20222,484
Sept 20222,226
Aug 20222,439
Jul 20222,597
Jun 20222,342
May 20222,757
Apr 20222,167
Mar 20222,678
Feb 20222,289
Jan 20222,415
Dec 20211,616
Nov 20212,181
Oct 20212,279
Sept 20212,178
Aug 20212,134
Jul 20212,548
Jun 20212,492
May 20212,367
Apr 20212,325
Mar 20212,748
Feb 20211,680
Jan 20211,883
Dec 20201,366
Nov 20201,972
Oct 20202,588
Sept 20202,252
Aug 20201,840
Jul 20201,480
Jun 20201,109
May 2020871
Apr 20201,085
Mar 20201,751
Feb 20201,698
Jan 20201,656
Dec 20191,488
Nov 20192,074
Oct 20192,300
Sept 20191,831
Aug 20191,816
Jul 20192,061
Jun 20191,878
May 20191,996
Apr 20191,464
Mar 20191,656
Feb 20191,463
Jan 20191,859
Dec 20181,122
Nov 20181,668
Oct 20181,981
Sept 20182,258
Aug 20182,130
Jul 20181,919
Jun 20182,245
May 20182,065
Apr 20181,662
Mar 20181,672
Feb 20181,582
Jan 20181,778
Dec 20171,272
Nov 20171,780
Oct 20172,013
Sept 20172,084
Aug 20172,268
Jul 20172,152
Jun 20172,769
May 20172,246
Apr 20172,088
Mar 20172,264
Feb 20171,742
Jan 20171,802
Is there a shortage of fork-lift truck drivers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
27%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives, which includes fork-lift truck drivers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London182
West Northamptonshire141
North Northamptonshire111
Leeds94
North West Leicestershire81
Wakefield76
South Gloucestershire72
Birmingham58
Bradford58
Manchester56
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where fork-lift truck drivers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of fork-lift truck drivers
n/p
15%!
16%!
34%!
20%!
5.2%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3415% (small sample)
35–4416% (small sample)
45–5434% (small sample)
55–6420% (small sample)
65+5.2% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!6.6%
Higher education below degree!4.3%
A levels or equivalent15%
GCSEs or equivalent28%
Other qualifications32%
No qualifications!7.7%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent6.6% (small sample)
Higher education below degree4.3% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent15%
GCSEs or equivalent28%
Other qualifications32%
No qualifications7.7% (small sample)

Main employers: warehousing and storage (14%), retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (5.5%), freight transport by road (5.2%), construction of residential and non-residential buildings (4.8%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
6.6%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
Other qualifications
held by 32%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • operates controls to pick up load on forks
  • drives truck to unloading point and lowers forks to correct position on stack or ground
  • ensures that truck is connected to charger or is correctly refuelled for use
  • keeps records of work undertaken
  • cleans, oils and greases machine

Skills

  • apply company policies
  • apply techniques for stacking goods into containers
  • carry out stock rotation
  • conduct forklift inspections
  • ensure compliance with environmental legislation
  • estimate distances
  • follow control of substances hazardous to health procedures
  • follow given instructions
  • follow signalling instructions
  • follow stock control instructions
  • follow verbal instructions
  • follow work procedures
  • handle dangerous goods
  • lift heavy weights

Knowledge

  • types of packaging used in industrial shipments

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives, a group of 14 jobs that includes fork-lift truck drivers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 6.7%about 80,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035748,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.