Salary Calculator

<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Our salary calculator helps you quickly estimate your take-home pay, based on the Income Tax and National Insurance contributions you are required to pay.</p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">At Blue Arrow we ensure all our candidates are paid in line with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) (<em>for workers aged under 23</em>), and the National Living Wage (NLW) (<em>for those aged 23 and over</em>) at a minimum. Effective from the 1st April 2023, the NMW is &pound;10.18 per hour, and the NLW is &pound;10.42 per hour. More information on the NMW and NML can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">here</span></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;">.</span></p>
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<h2><span style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</span></h2>
<table style="width: 87.414%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.3333%;"><strong>Job Role&nbsp;</strong></td>
<td style="width: 86.4407%;">&nbsp;Kitchen Porter (aka: Kitchen Hand, Dishwasher, Pot Wash)&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.3333%;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="width: 86.4407%;">&nbsp;Ensuring that all kitchen areas are clean. Washing plates, cutlery and kitchen equipment.&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.3333%;">&nbsp;<strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="width: 86.4407%;">
<p><strong><br><br>Top:</strong> Usually a plain <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/shirts-t-shirts-and-polo-shirts/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">t-shirt</a><br><strong>Bottoms:</strong> Usually plain black or navy <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/staff-uniforms/uniform-trousers/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trousers</a><br><strong>Apron:</strong> You should be provided with a <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">waterproof apron</a> to protect you and your clothes<br><strong>Shoes:</strong> Usually black <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kitchen-safe shoes</a> (like plastic chef shoes) or trainers<br><strong>Gloves: </strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/workwear-and-ppe/gloves/_/a33-2.f8-1?sort=match-rate-desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">W</a><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/workwear-and-ppe/gloves/_/a33-2.f8-1?sort=match-rate-desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aterproof washing-up gloves</a> may also be provided to protect your hands from sharp items and hot water</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h4><strong>Handy Hints&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Uniform should always be clean at the start of every shift and in good condition (eg. no rips or holes). Take note of what other kitchen porters are wearing and don&rsquo;t be afraid to ask what is allowed.</li>
<li>Always be sure to take water or another drink to your shift and stay hydrated.</li>
<li>If you&rsquo;re allowed to wear your own clothes, make sure you don&rsquo;t mind them getting dirty.</li>
<li>If a waterproof apron and gloves aren&rsquo;t provided, it would be reasonable to ask for some.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Kitchen Porter?</h2>
<p>No commercial kitchen can run without a good&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Kitchen+Porter">kitchen porter</a>. As an essential part of restaurants, cafes, hospitals, schools, cruise ships and every other place that serves food to customers, you are crucial to the running of a successful workplace in the hospitality and catering sector.</p>
<p>This is a great job if you have no formal qualifications, like fast-paced environments and will enjoy a good day&rsquo;s graft. The ability to listen to instructions, reliably turn up and be flexible with when you can work will make you a perfect candidate. You&rsquo;ll be working upwards of 40 hours a week especially in busy periods like Christmas.</p>
<p>But how do you get a job as a kitchen porter? Also known as a kitchen hand, dishwasher, pot wash, &lsquo;dishie&rsquo; and sometimes abbreviated to &lsquo;KP&rsquo;, these jobs are often advertised online, on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/">specialist staffing websites&nbsp;</a>and on local job boards or in the newspaper. You might also find, especially if you live in a big city, that there are Facebook groups for hospitality and catering workers, which advertise for these sort of roles.</p>
<p>Make sure you read the job description fully, and apply in the way that it asks. Whether that means directly through the job website, by sending an email or by going in with your CV or resume in person. You&rsquo;ll want to show any experience you have that might be relevant, be clear about what days of the week you would be available and the earliest date that you could start the job. Remember if you have a contract with another job you should make sure you work your notice period or tell them a week before you&rsquo;re going to leave.</p>
<p>After applying, you may receive a phone call from the employer who might want a quick chat or to arrange a trial shift &ndash; in any case, ensure you&rsquo;re able to answer the phone. They will normally ask you to go to the workplace for a short trial. This should be for an hour or two, any more time and it is reasonable to ask whether you will be paid for your time. While it&rsquo;s not ideal to work for free, it is the best way to assess whether you can do this job as there are no qualifications necessary and you don&rsquo;t necessarily need to have done it before.</p>
<p>So what are they looking for in the trial? You can read about the usual dress code for a kitchen porter in the box above. The most important thing is to turn up on time, and to show the employer that you can listen and understand instructions. So they might explain how to rinse or scrub the dishes, and then put them in the machine. Make sure you listen carefully and ask if you&rsquo;re unsure about anything. They will probably give you a tour of the kitchen and areas you&rsquo;ll need to know about, remember as much as you can and make sure you smile and greet other people who work there. First impressions are very important, these will hopefully be your new work colleagues and you want to get off to a good start.</p>
<p>After a successful trial and you&rsquo;re offered the job, try to get the employer to send you an email or give you a job contract. If it&rsquo;s a more casual position, you&rsquo;ll need to ask how much you&rsquo;re going to be paid, and what sort of hours you will be working. If you&rsquo;re not sure about your working rights, ask someone you trust or read about it on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker">government&rsquo;s website here</a>.</p>
<p>When you start out in this job, your day-to-day duties will include, but aren&rsquo;t limited to, washing plates, cutlery and kitchen equipment, changing and disposing of rubbish and recycling. Everything you&rsquo;re asked to do you should be shown how, either by another kitchen porter you work alongside, the chef in charge or the manager.</p>
<p>Once you learn the ropes of the role, you may also be asked to monitor stock levels of cleaning products and the things you use a lot. For example, if you often use rubbish disposal bags it would be helpful for the chef (who has a lot of other things to remember and think about in his/her own role) if you let them know at a suitable time (not when food is being served and it&rsquo;s busy) that you need more. If you are asked to do this, you could ask for a stock take sheet to help you count what you have and then work out what needs to be ordered. Keep in mind that you won&rsquo;t receive the things you need on the same day so try to think ahead and order before something runs out.</p>
<p>As a KP in the hospitality world, you may also be asked to help with basic food preparation. To be a standout employee, you should accept this and do your best to do it correctly and quickly. You&rsquo;ll always be shown by the chef or team leader who asked, and make sure you ask questions if you&rsquo;re unsure of anything or feel it&rsquo;s unsafe. As with cleaning the dishes, make sure you always keep you working area clean when working with food. Always wash your hands before and use the knife or peeler carefully.</p>
<p>As this is an entry-level role, especially if you&rsquo;re hoping to use this as a stepping-stone into the kitchen itself, these small tasks are a great way to show the head chef or other chefs what you can do. After working as a kitchen porter, you could apply for the role of&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-kitchen-assistant">kitchen assistant</a>&nbsp;</strong>or even a&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-commis-chef">commis chef</a></strong>. This is one of the most common career paths for chefs or job seekers looking to change careers into the food industry.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Kitchen+Porter">kitchen porter jobs</a></p>
<p>Read about taking the next step to becoming a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-kitchen-assistant">kitchen assistant</a>.</p>
<h2>What's it like to be a Kitchen Porter?</h2>
</article>
<div class="flex-video widescreen">
<div class="VideoObject"><iframe id="widget2" class="optanon-category-C0004 " title="What's it like to be a Kitchen Porter? | Hospitality and Catering Jobs" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ryhPPpFhRsw?enablejsapi=1" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-ot-ignore="" data-gtm-yt-inspected-13="true"></iframe>
<p>What's it like to be a Kitchen Porter? | Hospitality and Catering Jobs</p>
</div>
</div>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h3>Video Transcript&nbsp;</h3>
<p>"A typical day as a Kitchen Assistant involves all sorts of things, taking deliveries of new food and drink stock items, making sure they are in the right place. Cleaning tasks to meet hygiene standards and help with basic food prep like slicing fruit and veg.</p>
<p>The best part about being a Kitchen Assistant is most definitely learning and having a laugh with your team. I also love that there is always more to be done so time goes really quickly.</p>
<p>It really is a tough jobs sometimes, it's not uncommon that it's up to you to clean up unpleasant messes left by customers or staff and constantly changing circumstances means having to think on your feet.</p>
<p>Overall though I love being a Kitchen Assistant."</p>
</article>

How to become a Kitchen Porter?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 634px; height: 35px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 17.5px;">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 124.375px; height: 17.5px;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 499.625px; height: 17.5px;">Production Operative (aka: Production Worker)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 17.5px;">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 124.375px; height: 17.5px;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 499.625px; height: 17.5px;"><br>Assembling goods, or parts, raw material handling and quality control.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Production Operative?</h2>
<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Production+Operative" target="_self">Production Operative</a>, also known as a production operator or worker, is someone who works in a factory putting together goods that are later sold to customers. This could be putting together parts for a vehicle, a step in making electrical goods or furniture, or packaging food items. You could also be working on a production line for things like gift sets, children&rsquo;s toys or food hampers. Because there are a so many different companies you could work for, there are job opportunities all over the country. This type of work also gets much busier in festive periods like Christmas, so if you need a temporary job to earn some extra cash there will be lots of shifts going.</p>
<p>If you are employed on a full-time contract, you could be working up to 40 hours a week. However, shift work is common in this type of work, offering you greater flexibility with the hours and days that you work.</p>
<p>But what will you be doing? You will most likely be working as part of a team under a supervisor. You will be assigned to a section and shown how to do your specific role. You will be set personal targets as well as group performance objectives. You will be expected to maintain a clean and safe environment at all times.</p>
<p>As part of this role you may also be responsible for loading raw goods or materials onto the line, checking things like operating temperatures, overseeing the packaging of items, or doing quality checks on products. It&rsquo;s common to be moved around to learn different lines in the section of the factory where you work. Which is great for giving you variety in your work and the opportunity to learn new skills.</p>
<p>This job does not require you to have any specific qualifications or education background. Important skills that will help you do well in this role include a keen eye for detail and good concentration skills. These will help you to perform your job effectively and notice and report any problems with the machinery or packing. You&rsquo;ll need to be in reasonably good health as this role requires you to stand on your feet for most of a shift. It may also be necessary to move and lift heavy items.</p>
<p>In this type of role, it&rsquo;s essential that you are a good team player and enjoy working with others to get good results. This means not being work shy or expecting others to put in extra work to cover you. It also means being willing to help others from time to time and pass on tips and useful information to the people you&rsquo;re working with.</p>
<p>You will also need to be a methodical worker, this means listening to instructions and carrying them out step-by-step, in the right order. Being able to work quickly, without skipping any part of the process or compromising on quality, will make you stand out as a production employee.</p>
<p>This is the sort of role where you&rsquo;ll be meeting and working with a wide range of people, so it&rsquo;s a great way to meet people if you&rsquo;re new to the area. There are also many transferable skills to learn and if you find a company you like, there is plenty of room for progression and further training.</p>
<p>Vacancies for production operative jobs will be advertised on specialist jobs boards, and online on the careers page of company websites. You can use the search function to look for jobs in your local area or by type of contract.</p>
<p>When you apply for these jobs, make sure you read all of the job description and aim to show the employer why you would be a good fit. If you have any experience of working in a warehouse or stacking shelves this will be great to include on your CV and application. Being invited to an interview is the perfect chance to find out more about the job, and show the employer that you&rsquo;re going to be a good worker. Make sure you arrive to the interview at least 10 minutes before it is due to start, be polite and friendly, and ask any questions you have. Some good things to ask are &ldquo;what training will be provided?&rdquo;, &ldquo;what is the team like?&rdquo; and &ldquo;what shift patterns will I be working?&rdquo;</p>
<p>Once you have gained some practical experience working on the line, you could look to progress by becoming a supervisor; your responsibilities would include overseeing a section and its employees, and making sure targets are safely met. Or, you could move to another area of the factory or warehouse, such as areas like transport or logistics, equipment maintenance or quality control.</p>
<p>Another option after working as a production operative is to do your forklift driver training. This will enable you to apply for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-counterbalance-forklift-truck-driver">counterbalance FLT driver</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-reach-forklift-truck-driver">reach FLT driver</a>&nbsp;jobs. If you&rsquo;re already working somewhere, they may support you and provide you with this training meaning you don&rsquo;t have to pay for it.</p>
<p>Factories are busy places, so it&rsquo;s important to be aware that it can be loud and feel hectic. But don&rsquo;t worry, you just need to stay focused on your job and meet health and safety standards at all times. Although some warehouses and factories have been reported in the media to be treating their staff badly, it is possible to find a good employer for this type of work. A potential downside to bear in mind with this sort of shift work is that it can mean very early starts, working late in the evenings, at weekends, and sometimes doing overtime in busy periods. But if you are someone who needs the flexibility and can&rsquo;t work regular 9-5 hours then this could be beneficial for you.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Production+Operative" target="_self">Production Operative jobs</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Production Operative?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 634px; height: 126px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 26.8125px;">
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.8125px;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.8125px;">LGV Cat C Driver (aka: Class 2 HGV Driver)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 26.8125px;">
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.8125px;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.8125px;">Transporting goods from supplier to customer or client.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 72.375px;">
<td style="text-align: left; height: 72.375px;"><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; height: 72.375px;">
<p>Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>What do I have to&nbsp;do to become a Cat C LGV Driver?</h2>
<p>A large goods vehicle (LGV) driver, commonly referred to as a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver, is someone who is qualified to operate a truck or lorry over 3,500kg. LGV drivers are responsible for transporting loads from a supplier to the customer or client. It&rsquo;s a great career if you have just left school or college. Or maybe you&rsquo;ve been made redundant in another industry or are looking for a new challenge. With enough hard work and determination to pass the theory and practical tests required, you could be on the road in your first LGV driver role in less than a month.</p>
<p>There are lots of opportunities out there for lorry drivers, as they are generally high in demand. And, there are haulage companies based throughout the UK so finding a company that&rsquo;s close to your home won&rsquo;t be a problem.</p>
<p>There are different categories that can be added to your car driving licence which mean you&rsquo;re able to drive LGVs. The most popular is Cat C (aka class 2), which allows you to drive category C vehicles. These are any LGVs with a trailer that has a maximum authorised mass of up to 750 kilograms. The step up from this is Cat C +E (aka class 1), which allows you to in addition drive LGVs with a larger trailer (category E).</p>
<p>There are strict rules on the number of hours you can work as a professional goods driver, which you can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/drivers-hours-goods-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">read in detail here</a>. It is your employer&rsquo;s responsibility to follow these rules. But, as a general rule, you cannot work more than 9 hours in a day, 56 hours in a week or 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks. All drivers of LGVs must record their hours on a record sheet or a tachograph &ndash; a device that automatically tracks your speed and distance travelled.</p>
<p>Your day-to-day duties as a Cat C LGV (class 2 HGV) driver will usually involve loading and securing your vehicle with goods. You will also have to check routes for safety restrictions, planned road works and traffic to ensure your journey will be smooth and efficient. There will be paperwork to do about the jobs you complete, problems occurred and vehicle maintenance to do. Other aspects of the job may involve liaising with customers about delivery times and working with other drivers on longer routes or more complex jobs.</p>
<p>There are a few hoops to jump through before you can get on the road as a LGV driver, but don&rsquo;t let this hold you back. You also must be over the age of 18. To guide you through the licence process, you will find plenty of specialist companies who provide the full service. For a fee, they will do all the administration, book your tests and help get your first job as a Cat C LGV (class 2 HGV) driver. But before you hand over your money, think about the pros of paying someone to do the legwork to get your licence, versus saving that money and doing it yourself. If you decide to do it yourself, all of the information you need is on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) website</a>, and explained below.</p>
<h3>Steps to obtain a Cat C LGV Licence</h3>
<h4><strong>Step 1: Obtain a car driving licence</strong></h4>
<p>If you don&rsquo;t already have a car driving licence, to get one you need to apply for a provisional car driving licence from the government&rsquo;s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). This will enable you to take driving lessons from an instructor or qualified driver who holds a full driving licence. To get your full car driving licence, you need to pass a computer-based theory test, and a practical test at registered centre. All of the information you need about driving a car in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.</p>
<h4><strong>Step 2: Apply for a provisional lorry licence</strong></h4>
<p>Once you have your full car driving licence, then first stage of becoming a LGV driver is to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/applying-for-a-bus-or-lorry-provisional-entitlement" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply for a provisional lorry licence</a>. Similarly to the car driving licence, this is done through the DVLA website. This time, you require one of the forms, which is called D4, to be filled in by a registered doctor. This is because drivers of lorries must be in reasonably good health. Be aware that you will have to either pay a private company to do the medical assessment and complete the form, or for your local GP&rsquo;s time required to complete the form for you. The areas that will be assessed include your eyesight, any neurological and heart conditions, mental health, alcohol and drug use, diabetes and sleep disorders.</p>
<p>You must send this medical assessment (D4) to the DVLA along with form D2, which you have completed yourself, along with your photocard driving licence. The DVLA will then assess whether you are fit to drive a large vehicle, and then process your application and provisional lorry licence. Make sure you&rsquo;ve filled in all of the correct details; if there is missing or incorrect information this will delay getting your provisional licence. You should receive it within three weeks of the DVLA receiving your application.</p>
<h4><strong>Step 3: Take the four part CPC test</strong></h4>
<p>The next step is a four-part theory test called the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). You need the full driver CPC if lorry driving is the main part of your profession. You can read about all of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/driver-cpc-part-1-theory-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the four driver CPC tests here</a>, and how to book each of them through the DVLA website.</p>
<p>When going for the tests, make sure you take all of the required documents with you; otherwise, you can&rsquo;t take the tests, and will have to pay again to rebook. Just like the car driving tests, it&rsquo;s essential to prepare for your driver CPC tests. There are lots of learning tools available, which explain each theory test, and allow you to do practice questions. Start by reading all of the information the DVLA provides. The tests follow a similar format to the driving licence theory test but are longer and more extensive. Once you have booked and passed the theory tests, you will need to then find a good training provider to prepare you for the practical tests.</p>
<p>Jake Preston, a transport administrator at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prestons-potto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prestons of Potto</a>&nbsp;in North Yorkshire, passed his driver CPC aged 19, and shares his advice: &ldquo;Try to approach the process with a positive attitude and an open mind; this will make it more enjoyable, while maximising your development as a professional operator. A lot of drivers feel it&rsquo;s a box-ticking exercise, where examiners are trying to tell experienced drivers how their job should be done. In reality, the programme ensures that best working practices are applied throughout the industry, which can only be beneficial to everybody.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve passed all parts of the driver CPC you&rsquo;ll be sent a card, which you must carry at all times when driving a lorry professionally. In order to keep your driver CPC, you must take&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/driver-cpc-training" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">35 hours of driver CPC training</a>&nbsp;every five years to stay qualified. All of the information you need about becoming a qualified lorry driver in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.</p>
<h3>Applying for jobs</h3>
<p>When your coveted driver CPC card comes through, it&rsquo;s time for a little celebration for all your hard work, followed by some job applications. Vacancies are usually posted on the career page of a company&rsquo;s website or on specialist job boards. You can used the search criteria to find opportunities near you, or if there are specific companies you are interested in working for then you could approach them directly about work.</p>
<p>When applying for your first Cat C LGV driver jobs, make sure you explain why you want the job and why you&rsquo;d be an asset to their team of drivers. If you have relevant experience, be sure to highlight that as well. And, of course, remember to include details and copies of all of your certificates and licences.</p>
<p>The types of people who do well in this type of role are self-motivated and happy to work by themselves for much of the shift. You&rsquo;ll need to be a patient driver and good at solving problems if they arise. Good concentration skills are also important to avoid road accidents and ensure you&rsquo;re on the correct route.</p>
<p>Jake Preston adds: &ldquo;Being a HGV driver is a very challenging role. At times it can be stressful, which is heightened by unpredictable events such as road closures or adverse weather. In light of this, a driver who is level-headed and approachable will find it easier to work alongside their managers and customers. Drivers must also be highly professional in all situations, as they are the interface between the haulage company and their clients.&rdquo;</p>
<p>There are great opportunities for career progression as a LGV driver. As your experience increases so should your pay and responsibilities. It&rsquo;s also possible to add more categories to your licence, such as category E which, combined with the category C you have already, means you can work as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-class-1-hgv-driver">Cat C+E LGV (class1 HGV) driver</a>. This step up will mean a higher salary, and that you&rsquo;re even more employable as you can drive a wider range of vehicles and work abroad.</p>
<p>One of the best things about being a qualified Cat C LGV driver is that there are lots of opportunities out there so you should find a job in no time. With a clear path for progression and promotions you&rsquo;ll also be able to move up the ladder if that&rsquo;s one of your goals. If you love working side-by-side with colleagues or don&rsquo;t like early starts then this sort of work may not be for you. It is also a role that can impact on your work-life balance, and unexpected delays may mean your shift doesn&rsquo;t always finish on time.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Class+2" target="_self">Cat C LGV driver jobs</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch</a>.</p>

How to become a Class 2 HGV Driver?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="height: 62.8889px; width: 633px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Assembly&nbsp;Operative</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Completing tasks in a specific section of an assembly line, whilst meeting targets.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>What do I need to do to become an Assembly Operative?</h2>
<p>An&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Assembly+operative" target="_self">Assembly Operative</a>&nbsp;is someone who works as part of a team to put goods together in a factory or warehouse. You&rsquo;ll normally work on a line, which is a conveyor belt of items needing your input in some way. There are lots of companies with factories and warehouses all over the country, which means you should be able to find a job that&rsquo;s close to where you live. You could be working on the assembly line for things like automotives, aircrafts, electronic goods or appliances.<br><br>Pay can vary greatly depending on your experience and type of work. However, roles that involve more complex assembly duties often pay more as you become more experienced.</p>
<p>This type of work is usually offered as shift work, meaning you could be working early mornings, evenings and sometimes through the night. There are variety of shift patterns that would suit you if working regular Monday to Friday, 9-5 hours does not fit with your lifestyle or other commitments. It&rsquo;s also great if you need some temporary work to earn extra cash.<br><br>Your day-to-day duties will depend on which section you are assigned to, and you will normally stay there for the whole shift. You will usually have targets to meet, and be responsible for reporting any issues with machinery or goods on the assembly line.<br><br>Vacancies for this type of role will usually be advertised on specialist jobs boards, and on the careers page of companies&rsquo; websites. Use the search function to look for jobs that match your experience, location and the type of employment you&rsquo;re looking for. Make sure you read the full job description, and apply in the way that it asks. This may be an online application form, sending your CV in an email or making a phone call to the company to get more information.<br><br>There are no specific qualifications or education subjects required to do this role. A good level (GCSE or equivalent) of Maths and English would be useful. A key skill needed to succeed as an assembly operative is the ability to focus on repetitive tasks and a keen eye for detail. This is because you need to be able to perform a task consistently, and notice any mistakes that you, the machine, or colleagues make. These errors can damage the product, and even put you or colleagues in danger. If you&rsquo;re ever unsure about something like this in the workplace, ask for help.&nbsp;<br><br>You will need to have good communication skills and work well in a team. You will also need to be self-motivated and be driven by your targets. These may be by number of items assembled, or work done per hour.<br><br>If you have any experience of working in a factory or warehouse, this will be a great addition to your CV. Stacking shelves and organising stock in a retail role will also have given you lots of skills that are relevant to an assembly operative role.<br><br>To do well in this role you&rsquo;ll need to be a methodical and reliable worker. This means listening carefully to instructions and carrying them out in order, and arriving on time each day for the correct shift. Working safely and making sure you meet health and safety requirements is extremely important. Your manager or supervisor should explain these procedures and precautions to you for each tasks and area of work. And you should always report any issues to your manager immediately.<br><br>If you want to progress your career in the manufacturing and production industry, you could aim to become a line supervisor or team leader. This would mean a pay rise and increased responsibilities. You will be looking after a section and its employees, and making sure targets are safely met. To get this promotion, you&rsquo;ll need to show you have good leadership skills and are eager to learn new skills.<br><br>This role can also be a great stepping-stone into other areas of work such as working in areas like retail and farming. Or, another option is to move to another area of the factory or warehouse. There are a huge variety of jobs like being a lorry or forklift truck driver in transport and logistics, to equipment maintenance or quality control.<br><br>If you like the company you work for and have made a good impression as an assembly operative, speak to your supervisor about your career goals. Companies are normally eager to support good employees who want to widen their skill set or seek out more responsibility.<br><br>This is also a good job for learning a great deal of transferable skills that will help you in other lines of work. For example, it will show you are able to follow instructions, and work safely within health and safety regulations. It will also improve your communication and team working skills. As you progress and gain more responsibility, you can also build up your people and leadership skills, which are great for any job where you manage a team.<br><br>It&rsquo;s important to realise that working on a factory line is a tough job, and it is a noisy and busy environment. But if you enjoy be active and meeting your targets, it could be a good fit for you. Another bonus with this sort of work is that if you want to pick up extra shifts to earn some more money there will likely be lots of opportunities.<br><br>As shift work is common in this line of work, think about whether the early starts, evening and weekend work will be suitable for you. You might be able to find work with set shift times, such as 7am-3pm so look at your options. Factories and warehouses are often out of town, and not always near public transport, so having a driving licence and car may be essential for you to get to work. If you don&rsquo;t have a UK-issued driving licence, you can<a href="https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">&nbsp;read about how to get one in this step-by-step guide</a>.<br><br><br>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Assembly+operative" target="_self">assembly operative jobs.</a><br><br><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>
</article>

How to become an Assembly Operative?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 65.2901%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 17.8788%;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 81.8182%;">Waiter / Waitress&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 17.8788%;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 81.8182%;"><br>Seating customers, taking&nbsp; food and drink orders and serving and clearing tables&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 17.8788%;"><strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 81.8182%;">
<p><strong><br><br>Top:&nbsp;</strong>Usually plain white or black shirt&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><strong>Bottoms:&nbsp;</strong>Usually plain dark trousers or skirt&nbsp;- <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/staff-uniforms/waiters-uniform/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waiter Options</a> / <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/staff-uniforms/waitress-uniform/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waitress Options&nbsp;</a><br><strong>Shoes:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Plain black shoes</a> that are comfortable&nbsp;<br><strong>Apron: </strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/front-of-house-aprons/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aprons</a> are usually provided by the employer</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><strong>Handy Hints:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>For less formal establishments, casual clothes are normally worn. Ensure they&rsquo;re clean, in good condition and appropriate to the place of work &ndash; see what your colleagues are wearing or ask the manager</li>
<li>Always be sure to take water or another drink to your shift and stay hydrated. If you&rsquo;re not provided with food for your break, don&rsquo;t forget to take something to eat.</li>
</ul>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become a Waiter or Waitress?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>If you&rsquo;re friendly, love talking to people and don&rsquo;t mind being on your feet for most of a shift, then a job as a waiter/waitress would be perfect for you. It&rsquo;s a great place to start building experience in hospitality and catering if you&rsquo;re considering a career in this industry. Or, if you&rsquo;re a student needing extra cash while you study, the flexible hours and casual positions available may suit you well.</p>
<p>On a permanent contract you will be looking at upwards of 40 hours a week. For temporary positions it will depend on a number of things like how busy it is, whether they&rsquo;re fully staffed, if anyone is sick or going on holiday. When you start any new job as a casual employee, be clear about what hours would suit you. And, of course, try to be flexible and help them out in busy times if you can.</p>
<p>Vacancies will be posted online, on specialist jobs websites, in Facebook groups, newspapers and through word of mouth. Jobs may be listed under a number of names including waiter/waitress, wait staff, front of house or floor staff. Don&rsquo;t feel shy about going to places directly to see if they need any front of house staff. Take a few copies of your CV, but most managers will normally ask you to email it to them, so have an up-to-date copy ready. If you can, get someone to read over your CV and check for things like spelling mistakes.</p>
<p>As this is a practical job, you will usually be asked to go in for a trial shift at the place of work. This will involve an interview or chat with the hiring manager, and working for an hour or two on the floor. You should expect to be shown where things are, talked through the menu and how the till system works. This can be nerve wracking if it&rsquo;s your first job as a waiter/waitress. But remember it is a trial so you won&rsquo;t be expected to know how to do everything. Don&rsquo;t be afraid to ask for help and make sure you smile. During the interview, be ready with any questions you might have about the job such as about hours or pay.</p>
<p>After a trial, you may be hired on the spot or told they will call you. Ask when the manager thinks they will be getting back to you. It&rsquo;s also important to tell them the date when you could start work.</p>
<p>On your CV and in the interview, be sure to highlight any experience serving customers or dealing with money. Of course, previous experience as a waiter/waitress is a bonus. There are no formal qualifications needed for a job as a waiter/waitress, so it&rsquo;s a great entry-level job, which can be fun and a good way to meet new people.</p>
<p>It is possible to do formal hospitality training, such as a diploma in hospitality but this is not required to work as a waiter/waitress. You may want to consider this if you want to make a career in hospitality and catering, or run your own business one day. And you can always start in a job like this while you consider training options.</p>
<p>Any practical training such as first aid, basic food hygiene or relevant alcohol licenses will add to your application. An online search for first aid training will show you opportunities in your area and local council websites have lots of information about relevant hospitality and catering certificates.</p>
<p>The prime responsibility of a waiter/waitress is to serve customers. This involves seating them, taking food and drink orders, serving and clearing tables. You may also need to liaise with the kitchen about specials, or when people have intolerances or allergies. If you are unsure about food safety issues like this, be sure to clarify with the customer or the chef, and refer to your manager or supervisor if needed.</p>
<p>There are pros and cons to this type of work. It can offer great flexibility, no two days being the same, a good way to meet new people and usually a free staff meal. However, bear in mind that you may have to deal with difficult or rude customers, and late nights and weekends.</p>
<p>When choosing where to work, look for somewhere where you like the pace of work. A quiet caf&eacute; or a high-end fine dining restaurant can give you different working days but also hone different skills. This is also a job which can take you anywhere in the world, so it&rsquo;s a good option if you want to go travelling or live in different countries.</p>
<p>Depending on the size of your place of work, there will be roles with more responsibility and the chance to progress. You may be put in charge of a number of sections of the restaurant or be tasked with ensuring staff take their breaks. Once you&rsquo;ve gained plenty of experience with customers and the till systems, you could then apply for assistant manager roles or even try to go straight for a manager position. As long as you can show you&rsquo;re reliable, hard working and good with people there&rsquo;s nothing stopping you going all the way.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Waiting+Staff">waiter/waitress jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>
<h2>What's it like to be a Waiter/Waitress?&nbsp;</h2>
</article>
<div class="flex-video widescreen">
<div class="VideoObject"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VZ2CNKT6CGc" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
</div>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h3><br>Video Transcript</h3>
<p>"A typical day as a waitress involves all sorts of things, going back and forth to serve drinks from the bar and meals from the kitchen, as soon as their ready. Clearing away plates and glasses and helping support the kitchen staff in different areas. Every job you do needs to be carried out at a fast pace. I think the best part about being a waitress is the tips, if your skills get better, you can really increase your earning potential.</p>
<p>If you love staying active and working flexible hours, then it's great work. It's not an easy job by any means, getting everything on people's orders right during busy times can be difficult and you're standing for long periods of time which can be tiring.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Overall though I love being a waitress."</p>
</article>

How to become a Waiter or Waitress?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 634.75px; height: 104px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">LGV Cat C+E Driver (aka: Class 1 HGV Driver)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Transporting goods from supplier to customer or client.&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">
<p>Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card<br>Category C+E driving license&nbsp;</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>What do I have to do to become a LGV Cat C+E Driver?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A large good vehicle (LGV) commonly referred to as a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver, is someone who is qualified to operate a truck or lorry over 3,500kg. The main responsibility of LGV drivers is transporting goods from a supplier to the customer or client.</p>
<p>Haulage and logistics is a large industry employing people all over the UK; this means there are plenty of opportunities out there for qualified&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Class+1+">Cat C+E LGV drivers</a>. There are also companies based all over the country, so you won&rsquo;t have to move to find work if you don&rsquo;t wish to.</p>
<p>Lorry driving is a great career to jump into if you have just left education, have been made redundant in another industry, or are looking to try something new. Although there are strict steps you must take to become a certified Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver, if you&rsquo;re determined it can be done in less than a month. There are also licence application fees you have to pay, which are all outlined below.</p>
<p>To guide you through the licence process, you will find plenty of specialist companies who provide the full service. For a fee, they will do all the administration, book your tests and help get your first job as a Cat C+E LGV driver. But before you hand over your money, think about the pros of paying someone to do the legwork to get your licence, versus saving that money and doing it yourself. If you decide to do it yourself, all of the information you need is on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) website</a>, and explained below.</p>
<p>There are strict rules on the number of hours you can work as a professional goods driver, which you can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/drivers-hours-goods-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">read in detail here</a>. It is up to your employer to make sure you don&rsquo;t work over time, but in general you can&rsquo;t work more than nine hours in a day, 56 hours in a week, or 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks. One benefit of working as a class 1 driver is that the long haul journeys can mean you work for three or four days, followed by a few days off. All drivers of LGVs must record their hours on a time sheet, or a tachograph &ndash; a device fitted to your vehicle that automatically tracks your speed and distance travelled.</p>
<p>There are different levels of LGV drivers, but all require you to have a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card. This allows you to drive category C vehicles, which are any LGVs with a trailer having a maximum authorised mass of up to 750 kilograms. The&nbsp;Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver is allowed to drive category C and E vehicles. This additional category allows a larger trailer, and so involves a different test, but it also means you can earn a higher salary or hourly rate, and are more employable.</p>
<p>Before setting off on the drive, your daily duties as a Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver will often involve checking the route you&rsquo;re about to take, and loading or supervising the loading of goods onto your vehicle. There will also be paperwork to do before and after drop off, and you may have to talk to clients or customers to discuss delivery times. You will also be responsible for checking your vehicle for safety and ensuring maintenance issues are resolved.</p>
<h3>Steps to obtain a Cat C+E licence</h3>
<h4><strong>Step 1: Obtain a car driving licence&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<p>There are a few hoops to jump through before you can get on the road as a LGV driver, but don&rsquo;t let this hold you back. You also must be over the age of 18. If you don&rsquo;t already have a car driving licence, to get one you need to apply for a provisional car driving licence from the government&rsquo;s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). This will enable you to take driving lessons from an instructor or qualified driver who holds a full driving licence. To get your full car driving licence, you need to pass a computer-based theory test, and a practical test at registered centre. All of the information you need about driving a car in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.</p>
<h4><strong>Step 2: Apply for a provisional lorry licence&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<p>Once you have your full car driving licence, then first stage of becoming a LGV driver is to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/applying-for-a-bus-or-lorry-provisional-entitlement" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply for a provisional lorry licence</a>. Similarly to the car driving licence, this is done through the DVLA website. This time, you require one of the forms, which is called D4, to be filled in by a registered doctor. This is because drivers of lorries must be in reasonably good health. Be aware that you will have to either pay a private company to do the medical assessment and complete the form, or for your local GP&rsquo;s time required to complete the form for you. The areas that will be assessed include your eyesight, any neurological and heart conditions, mental health, alcohol and drug use, diabetes and sleep disorders.</p>
<p>You must send this medical assessment (D4) to the DVLA along with form D2, which you have completed yourself, along with your photocard driving licence. The DVLA will then assess whether you are fit to drive a large vehicle, and then process your application and provisional lorry licence. Make sure you&rsquo;ve filled in all of the correct details; if there is missing or incorrect information this will delay getting your provisional licence. You should receive it within three weeks of the DVLA receiving your application.</p>
<h4><strong>Step 3: Take the Driver Certificate of Professional&nbsp;Competence (CPC) test</strong></h4>
<p>The next step is a four-part theory test called the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). You need the full driver CPC if lorry driving is the main part of your profession. You can read about all of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/driver-cpc-part-1-theory-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the four driver CPC tests here</a>, and how to book each of them through the DVLA website.</p>
<p>When going for the tests, make sure you take all of the required documents with you; otherwise, you can&rsquo;t take the tests, and will have to pay again to rebook. Just like the car driving tests, it&rsquo;s essential to prepare for your driver CPC tests. There are lots of learning tools available, which explain each theory test, and allow you to do practice questions. Start by reading all of the information the DVLA provides. The tests follow a similar format to the driving licence theory test but are longer and more extensive. Once you have booked and passed the theory tests, you will need to then find a good training provider to prepare you for the practical tests.</p>
<p>Jake Preston, a transport administrator at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prestons-potto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prestons of Potto</a>&nbsp;in North Yorkshire, passed his driver CPC aged 19, and shares his advice: &ldquo;Try to approach the process with a positive attitude and an open mind; this will make it more enjoyable, while maximising your development as a professional operator. A lot of drivers feel it&rsquo;s a box-ticking exercise, where examiners are trying to tell experienced drivers how their job should be done. In reality, the programme ensures that best working practices are applied throughout the industry, which can only be beneficial to everybody.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve passed all parts of the driver CPC you&rsquo;ll be sent a card, which you must carry at all times when driving a lorry professionally. In order to keep your driver CPC, you must take&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/driver-cpc-training" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">35 hours of driver CPC training</a>&nbsp;every five years to stay qualified. All of the information you need about becoming a qualified lorry driver in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Applying for jobs</h3>
<p>After successfully passing your full lorry driving licence, it&rsquo;s time to start looking for jobs. You will find Cat C+E LGV&nbsp;driver vacancies on specialist jobs boards, and online on the careers page of companies&rsquo; websites. Make sure you read the full job description when writing your application and arrive a little early to your interview.</p>
<p>The types of people who make excellent Cat C+E LGV&nbsp;drivers are calm and confident on the road. You&rsquo;ll need to have patience when driving, and be good at solving problems when they arise. This could include unforeseen traffic, restrictions on heavy loads, frustrating roads users or even a petrol station being unexpectedly closed. Be prepared for long hours and early starts. You will also need to be happy to work by yourself for much of the shift, and not needing someone regularly checking in on you. Being focused and having good concentration skills are also vital, to avoid road accidents and ensure you don&rsquo;t get lost.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re hard-working and career focused, there are lots of opportunities for progression in this industry. Jake Preston notes that although being a HGV driver can become a way of life for some, if you want more regular hours then you could look at progressing to an office-based job in the industry. &ldquo;This is why some drivers retrain to become a traffic manager, who manages customer orders, and a fleet of vehicles and drivers, so that collections and deliveries can be fulfilled. Skills gained through driving are highly beneficial to this type of role, including strong understanding of the geography, knowledge of driving laws, and realistic expectation of driver performance,&rdquo; he explains.</p>
<p>Working as a Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver is a great job if you enjoy getting the job done and aren&rsquo;t interested in office politics. The shift work can offer you flexible working patterns, meaning you can line up more than two days off in a row without using your annual leave. It can also offer the opportunity to drive abroad, or move around the country.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Class+1+">Cat C+E LGV driver jobs</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch</a></p>

How to become a Class 1 HGV Driver?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 66.5683%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 17.5334%;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 82.1694%;">Administrator</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 17.5334%;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 82.1694%;"><br>Completing forms, taking internal phone calls, creating reports and organising data.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>What do I need to do to become an Administrator?&nbsp;</h2>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Administrator">Administrators</a>&nbsp;can work in most sectors of the job world. Whether it&rsquo;s for a retail business, transport company, hospital, school, university or travel company, you&rsquo;ll be working hard to make sure all administrative duties are taken care of so the business can run smoothly.</div>
<p>According to the website payscale.com, salaries do not directly increase in line with years of experience. So administrators with lots of experience do not earn significantly more than those just starting out. However, this role gives you many transferable skills that will help you gain higher paying jobs in the admin industry, or in other sectors of work.</p>
<p>The content of your day-to-day duties will often depend on the type of company that you work for. But common tasks will include completing forms, taking internal phone calls, creating reports and organising data. Administrators may also have some customer-facing duties, such as taking and processing customer orders, dealing with customer issues or complaints, arranging postal deliveries and bookkeeping.</p>
<p>So, how do you land a job as an administrator? Vacancies are often advertised on specialist job boards or on the career page of a large company&rsquo;s website. When applying, make sure you read through the advert fully. Then show how you meet the main points in their criteria on your CV and your cover letter, or on the online application form. Even if you don&rsquo;t meet all of their requirements, it is still worth applying, as long as the job is within your experience remit. There is no use in applying to be the manager of an admin team, if you&rsquo;ve never done the job before.</p>
<p>When you get invited to interview, it&rsquo;s essential that you arrive on time and give a great first impression. Be polite, smile and try not to show that you&rsquo;re nervous. After all, an interview is just as much for you to gauge whether you want to do the job, as it is for a potential employer to meet you.</p>
<p>In the modern world, computer skills are vital for any administrator. This includes strong typing and numeracy skills, data entry, computer-based record-keeping and more. This role naturally suits highly organised characters. This means you are able to sort through and process information, and do not need someone checking over all of your work for mistakes. A keen eye for detail and the ability to manage your own workload will also help. You also need to be able to communicate effectively. This includes written and verbal communication with your team and others in the company.</p>
<p>Any experience you have working in an office, answering phone calls or keeping records, will be useful when applying for administrator jobs. When writing your CV and in an interview, also be sure to highlight any examples you have of working well in a team. Working in an administration department, or even if you&rsquo;re the company&rsquo;s only administrator, you&rsquo;ll be working with a wide range of employees.</p>
<p>Employers will also be looking to see that you are capable of meeting deadlines and key performance indicators (KPIs). If you haven&rsquo;t worked in a similar role, think of examples that might show this.</p>
<p>You don&rsquo;t need any formal qualifications for most administrator roles. However, if you want to, you could consider a business degree or business-related national vocational qualification (NVQ). Training provider City &amp; Guilds has information about lots of work-based qualifications on their&nbsp;<a title="Link opens new browser" href="https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/business-skills" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a>. You can choose to start at&nbsp;<a title="Link opens new browser" href="https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/qualifications-explained/qualification-comparisons" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">different levels of NVQ</a>&nbsp;depending on your education and experience in the workplace.</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;re settled into a new admin role, your daily duties will often start with reading, replying and following up emails. It is likely that most of your work, whether it&rsquo;s communicating with colleagues or customers, will be done via email. Keep your inbox tidy, create labels and anything else that will keep you as organised as possible. Assess your workload for the day and prioritise the most important things. You&rsquo;ll also be supporting other members of staff, and, if you have a customer-facing role, you&rsquo;ll also be attending to phone calls.</p>
<p>If this is your first ever job or first role in the administrative sector, you may start as an admin assistant. This usually means working with a supervisor who will guide you and help manage your workload. It&rsquo;s a great place to get your foot on the ladder and start learning; for most office-based careers it will teach you lots of transferable skills that can be used in a variety of industries.</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve got a few years of experience under your belt, or less if you&rsquo;re motivated, you can look to move up to an administrator role, and then progress to a senior administrator. If you like the company you&rsquo;re working for, you can look for internal job vacancies that could expand your skillset. You&rsquo;re more likely to be successful if you&rsquo;ve already proven you&rsquo;re hard-working, reliable and an asset in your current role. And sometimes it&rsquo;s necessary to side-step in order to move up.</p>
<p>If you are intending to make a career in the administration world, you may want to think about specialising in a certain sector, such as a legal or medical administrator.</p>
<p>As well as job-specific transferable skills, you&rsquo;ll also develop important soft skills that will be useful in any workplace. These include interpersonal skills, such as liasing with colleagues, sourcing help when you need it and learning how to work well with different types of people. Listening skills and learning how to express an alternative opinion in a professional way is also something you may learn.</p>
<p>Working as an administrator can sometimes feel like a thankless task, and sometimes you may not receive direct praise or credit. But don&rsquo;t let this stop you, keep in mind your own goals, realise when you&rsquo;ve done something well and bare in mind what sort of skills you&rsquo;re learning.</p>
<p>This is a great role for anyone starting out in the world of work, and a place to improve your IT and interpersonal skills. Starting out as an admin assistant or administrator doesn&rsquo;t have a clear career path but you can take it into whichever sector interests you, or look at moving on to marketing, human resources, project management or secretarial work.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Administrator" target="_self">administrator jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become an Administrator?

<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;">Q. What is IR35?</span></h3>
<p> IR35 or &ldquo;off payroll&rdquo; legislation is the legislation that helps determine whether an individual would be deemed an employee for tax and NI purposes if they weren&rsquo;t being paid via their personal services company (PSC). The legislation itself has been around since 2000 and at its core, hasn&rsquo;t changed significantly since then. It has always been the responsibility of the contractor to do their own assessment, and declare to the HMRC their tax status.</p>
<h3> <span style="color: #009ee3;">Q. What changed and why? </span></h3>
<p>From April 2021, medium and large-sized organisations outside the public sector became responsible for deciding the employment status of contractors for tax purposes. Previously, contractors themselves were responsible for making this decision in these sectors. This ensures consistency with the public sector, where these arrangements have been in place since April 2017.</p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;">Q. Who does this affect? </span></h3>
<p>You are affected by the changes to the off-payroll working rules (IR35) if: You are a contractor who works through an intermediary, e.g. you own limited company, often know as a personal service company (PSC), and you provide your services to public sector organisations or medium or large-sized organisations outside of the public sector. A medium or large-sized organisation will have a turnover of more than &pound;10.2 million, a balance sheet total of &pound;5.1m and/or more than 50 employees.</p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;"> Q. What does this mean for a PSC or limited contractor? </span></h3>
<p>If a contractor is engaged on an assignment and the assignment is deemed as in scope, or where the client cannot satisfactorily determine that the contractor is out of scope, the agency will be responsible for deducting relevant Tax and NI from the total payment made to the contractor. </p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;">Q. When did these changes come into effect? </span></h3>
<p>The legislation applies to all&nbsp;payments made for services provided on or after April 2021. Payments will be made in accordance with the agreed payroll cycle between both parties. </p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;"> Q. How do I know if I&rsquo;m inside or outside of IR35? </span></h3>
<p>As the contractor and as part of your current responsibilities, you are legally required to complete regular assessments to see if you are inside or outside of IR35, and therefore to correctly assess your tax contributions. If you haven&rsquo;t done this already, we strongly recommend that you do this as soon as possible with your accountant or tax advisor. This can be done using the&nbsp;HMRC CEST tool, which has been specially created for this purpose. </p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;"> </span> </h3>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;">Q. My role has been found to be inside of IR35, what are my options?&nbsp;</span></h3>
<p>If you continue to work through your limited company, you don&rsquo;t need to do anything. We may need to deduct employers NI from your gross pay rate, as that is currently passed on to you in your limited company rate. In addition to this, we will make deductions prior to payment to account for tax and NI, which will be detailed in your remittance. As the benefits of working through your own limited company have decreased, you may decide to look at consider the benefits of being paid as an employee of Blue Arrow. Ask your Blue Arrow consultant&nbsp;if you wish to understand more about what this means, and what the benefit may be.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;">Q. What are the features to PAYE terms?</span></h3>
<p>Pay As You Earn is the standard form of worker taxation in the UK and offers a number of advantages over Ltd Company Terms in the form of additional benefits and conditions; Any PAYE workers on assignment with the same client for 12 weeks or more becomes eligible for &ldquo;Parity Terms&rdquo; in both pay and conditions with the end client&rsquo;s permanent workers doing the same job. This means that all former Ltd Company Drivers (with more than 12 weeks on assignment at the same client) will be remunerated at the same rate at the permanent Drivers, in many cases the provides a significant pay increase. All PAYE workers accrue a minimum of 28 days paid holiday per year in addition to their hourly salary (more where working to parity terms). All PAYE workers accrue 3% Employer Pension Contribution in addition to their hourly salary. All PAYE workers have their National Insurance contributions paid ensuring they are eligible for a full state pension upon retirement. All PAYE workers have SSP entitlement.</p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;"> Q. What will my gross pay rate be if I my role is found to be in scope of IR35?&nbsp; </span></h3>
<p>Ultimately, this will depend on how you wish to be paid going forward. Currently, your limited rate includes the employed pay rate for your role, plus the associated costs that would usually be picked up by an employer, including but not limited to, employers NI, holiday pay, pension costs and apprenticeship levy. Depending on the arrangement you choose, it is possible that a third party will become responsible for paying some if not all of these employer costs. Therefore, they will no longer be passed to you in your gross rate.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><span style="color: #009ee3;"> Q. What happens if I don&rsquo;t agree with the client&rsquo;s assessment? </span></h3>
<p>In the event that the client finds your role in scope for IR35 and you think this is incorrect, you have the right to challenge this by following the client&rsquo;s dispute resolution process. Under the legislation, the client has up to 45 days to respond to your query. During this time, we are obliged to deduct PAYE and NI from any payments made until such time that the client informs us they&rsquo;ve changed their determination. If you wish to wait until the dispute process has been finalised in order for payments to be made, please advise your Blue Arrow consultant, and ensure that you do not submit any timesheets during this time. This document does not constitute tax or legal advice.</p>
<p>To stay up-to-date with latest industry news, <a href="~/link.aspx?_id=D26F3378DB9A4DCAB6B1573C51F1EA50&amp;_z=z">sign up to our newsletter.</a></p>

IR35 FAQs for Workers

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Customer Service Advisor, (aka: Call Centre Advisor)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><br>Dealing with customer queries, or complaints via the telephone, email or in person.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become an Customer Service Advisor?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Working in a call centre often gets bad press, but customer service advisors are a vital part of a company&rsquo;s operations. It can be the start of an exciting and rewarding career, with plenty of room for progression in the administration and secretarial sector. Or, you could think of it as a useful stepping-stone into another industry. Great communication skills, efficiency, and accuracy will make you an asset to any customer service team.</p>
<p>Situated in the customer service department, your job title may be customer service advisor, call centre advisor or retail advisor. On a full-time contract you will normally work a standard 40-hour week. There may be the opportunity for flexible working hours, and it could involve evening or weekend work. This is great if you&rsquo;re a student or would benefit from not working set hours on certain days.</p>
<p>Day-to-day you will be communicating with customers about product selection (sales) or dealing with aftercare queries. These interactions may be via telephone, email, occasionally by letter, and in person. You&rsquo;ll also be required to maintain data entry protocols and carefully record other information throughout your day.</p>
<p>Other regular tasks may include creating and interpreting reports, and meetings with your team members and supervisor. Whether you&rsquo;re in a large team or tight-knit group, it&rsquo;s important to be a good team player. This means pulling your weight, helping colleagues when you can, and communicating effectively about tasks or any issues that come up.</p>
<p>When applying for a customer service advisor role, it&rsquo;s important to highlight in your career history any work that includes office-based jobs to your potential employer. This will show you have the right skills, such as using standard technical equipment, telephones and basic numeracy. Computer skills are particularly important in this sort of job, so include any certificates or examples of training you&rsquo;ve had in IT or data entry in your application.</p>
<p>Any experience working in a customer-facing role will have given you great transferable skills that will also help your application. This can be from any job that involves interacting with customers, such as working as a receptionist, on a shop floor, or in a restaurant. You may also be able to show that you know how to deal with difficult complaints and remain calm and polite.</p>
<p>Regardless of your work experience, it&rsquo;s vital to come across in a professional manner. This means from the first point of contact you have with your potential employer, phone calls or emails with them, right up to arriving at an interview on time and greeting them in person; it all counts towards their personal opinion of you. While all employers must be fair in their assessment of your skills and suitability for a job, it can only help your application if you are friendly and courteous. After all, as a customer service advisor you are representing their company and brand so this is particularly important.</p>
<p>Although formal training may not be required for entry-level roles, there are a number of national vocational qualifications (NVQs), work-based qualifications, in customer service. Training provider City &amp; Guilds has information on their&nbsp;<a title="Link opens new browser" href="https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/business-skills" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a>, offering&nbsp;<a title="Link opens new browser" href="https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/qualifications-explained/qualification-comparisons" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">different levels of NVQ</a>&nbsp;depending on your education and work background.</p>
<p>You have probably been developing some of the skills needed for this role without realising it. Great communication skills, in written form and verbally in person or on the phone, are one of the most important. This means being able to clearly tell someone information in a way they can understand, and listening carefully to their response or any questions they might have. Being able to deal with difficult customers, while maintaining a sense of composure and understanding will be a bonus in this role.</p>
<p>You will also need to be able to work well under pressure, manage your own workload, and have the ability to prioritise the tasks that are the most important. Use any examples that you have of this when talking in an interview to show you&rsquo;re a good fit for the job, and explain that you&rsquo;re also willing to improve on these soft skills. Good computer skills, such as typing, data entry and using email systems will also be beneficial as they will allow you to do your job efficiently.</p>
<p>In terms of career progression within this role, a logical step is to become a senior customer service advisor. This step up the ladder would usually include overseeing customer claims, data analysis of statistics and ensuring your team members follow the correct procedures.</p>
<p>Or, you could aim to progress to becoming a customer service team leader. This means being responsible for other customer service advisors, ensuring your team delivers on objectives. In turn, this will also mean giving them support and training in relevant areas to enable them to do their jobs better. You may also be responsible for dealing with complaints or difficult customers.</p>
<p>Overall, this is a great role to develop your skills, gain experience working in an office and can provide good flexibility if you need to work part-time. It&rsquo;s also a great entry-level job, as it develops skills that could take you into a number of different career paths. This may include retail, marketing, human resources, recruitment or other administrative roles.</p>
<p>You may find the work can feel relentless if you&rsquo;re not meeting your targets or you&rsquo;ve had some difficult customer queries that you haven&rsquo;t been able to resolve. It&rsquo;s important to remember that every call or task you take is building upon your skills. If you feel you&rsquo;re not happy in your current customer service advisor role, there are lots of different businesses providing a variety of opportunities.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Customer+Service+Advisor" target="_self">customer service advisor jobs</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Customer Service Advisor?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 60.2753%; height: 200px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 17px;">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 18.7653%; height: 17px;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 79.5728%; height: 17px;">Head Chef&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 34px;">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 18.7653%; height: 34px;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 79.5728%; height: 34px;">Overseeing all parts of the kitchen, creating menus, budget management&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 149px;">
<td style="text-align: left; width: 18.7653%; height: 149px;"><strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 79.5728%; height: 149px;">
<p><strong><br><br>Top:&nbsp;</strong>Usually a <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/chef-jackets-and-tunics/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chef white</a> (long or short sleeved) or plain <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/shirts-t-shirts-and-polo-shirts/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">t-shirt</a><br><strong>Bottoms:&nbsp;</strong>Usually black or checkered chef <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/chef-trousers/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trousers</a><br><strong>Apron:&nbsp;</strong>Usually a <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/all-aprons/bib20aprons/_/a33-3.f8-1?sort=match-rate-desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plain apron</a> or <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/butchers20aprons/_/a33-2.f8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">butcher&rsquo;s striped apron</a><br><strong>Shoes:&nbsp;</strong>Black<a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> kitchen-safe chef shoes</a><br><strong>Gloves:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/headwear-and-neckerchiefs/chef-beanies-and-skull-caps/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chef&rsquo;s scull cap</a> and/or <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/lion-haircare-hair-net-light-blue/a291" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hair net</a> and <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/lion-haircare-beard-snood-light-blue/b470?cm_sp=Peerius-_-productRecsTop-_-image" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beard net</a> if required</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become a Head Chef?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>You&rsquo;ve proved to yourself and your colleagues that you&rsquo;re capable of running the kitchen as sous chef. Now it&rsquo;s time to take the leap into the role of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=head+chef+">head chef</a>. This is normally the highest-ranking position in the kitchen, and it comes with lots more responsibility. Plus you&rsquo;ll get creative control over the menu, the freedom to introduce exciting new ingredients, and the chance to maintain a happy team.</p>
<p>There&rsquo;s no real in-between role for this, so make sure you are ready for the challenge before you begin to apply for head chef jobs. Though, of course, there&rsquo;s no harm in looking at possible vacancies and doing some research before you take the plunge.</p>
<p>As head chef, it will be down to you to oversee all parts of the kitchen. From ensuring great dishes are served up, food hygiene standards are met and your staff turn up for shifts, you&rsquo;ll either be delegating these tasks or doing them yourself.</p>
<p>There are many areas of the kitchen that will need your attention as a head chef. And the amount of hands-on work you do will often depend on the size of the establishment.</p>
<p>An important responsibility of the head chef is dictating the menu. This is the part of your work that the customers see, and a great chance to show your creativity and flair. However, of course, it will need to be feasible in terms of service and costs in line with the financial goals of the business.</p>
<p>As the head chef you&rsquo;ll also be liaising with owners and business directors about the finances and direction of the menu. From the start you need to make sure you know what results they want to see from the business and the steps you can take to achieve that.</p>
<p>Understanding the numbers is key, says Greg Lambert, executive chef at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixbaltic.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Six Restaurant</a>, part of the Fresh Element Group in Newcastle upon Tyne. &ldquo;My advice would be to make sure you have a real passion for not only food and service, but for business. A very large percentage of my job is spent looking at product costs, wage budget and gross profit.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;No matter how well we can cook, if the business doesn&rsquo;t make money, then we won&rsquo;t be in a job to cook that food anymore. That is something that you really learn with age. When you are young eager cook, all that matters is cooking the best dish you can and pleasing the head chef. As head chef, it is about cooking the best dish you can within the parameters of your business,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>This business expertise is something you&rsquo;ll be constantly building on but never forget the value of your experience and commitment. You&rsquo;ll also need to have confidence in yourself, as well as respect for your staff and the food you&rsquo;re serving up.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Working as a head chef is highly pressured role. It can be very rewarding when you deliver an excellent service and all the staff and customers leave happy,&rdquo; says Lambert. &ldquo;You put more stress and pressure on yourself to continually create new dishes or come up with ideas.&rdquo;</p>
<p>You will also be involved in hiring all back of house staff, with support from the sous chef. And there will need to be ongoing training for your chefs to ensure the highest levels of food preparation and cooking are maintained. Wherever you work, your team is the foundation upon which to build kitchen success. So, as the head chef you&rsquo;ll want to invest a lot of time and energy in these people.</p>
<p>Together with making sure your staff members are well trained, you&rsquo;ll also want to ensure they are motivated. As you will know from working for many years in kitchens, it can sometimes be a hard slog. Not every day as a commis chef or CDP feels like a success, and everyone has bad services. You&rsquo;re there to encourage your chefs to do better and support them with things they find difficult. Although managing so many people in a high-pressured environment can be tough, it will reap rewards when the team pulls together and has a great service.</p>
<p>Unless it&rsquo;s a brand new kitchen, suppliers will already be in place to deliver fresh and dry products. It&rsquo;s a good idea to introduce yourself to them and make them work hard for you. Once you&rsquo;ve learned the kitchen operations, you could look around at changing suppliers if the current ones aren&rsquo;t providing what you need.</p>
<p>For such an important step in your career, it&rsquo;s worth spending time to look around at the type of place you&rsquo;d like to work in. While employers may put out job adverts online, it&rsquo;s still worth going into places you like and talking to the restaurant manager or owner about potential opportunities.</p>
<p>Once you get offered an interview for a head chef role, it&rsquo;s essential to be prepared. Go into the interview confidently, and be armed with questions for the potential employer. Gather as much information about the place as you need to decide if this is the role for you. And don&rsquo;t be afraid to negotiate on your hours and salary.</p>
<p>Head chef is normally the highest rank in a kitchen, with chefs moving through the ranks of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-commis-chef">commis chef</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-chef-de-partie">chef de partie&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-sous-chef">sous chef</a>&nbsp;before reaching the top. However, in larger hospitality groups, catering companies and hotel chains you may find there are executive chef roles. These jobs lean more towards the management and recruitment side, and may be a great way to gain more work-life balance and less hands-on time running the kitchen.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=head+chef+">head chef jobs</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>
<h2>What's it like to be a Chef?</h2>
</article>
<div class="flex-video widescreen">
<div class="VideoObject"><iframe id="widget2" class="optanon-category-C0004 " title="What's it like to be a Chef? | Hospitality and Catering Jobs" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YCqTdUnr0q0?enablejsapi=1" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-ot-ignore="" data-gtm-yt-inspected-13="true"></iframe>
<p>What's it like to be a Chef? | Hospitality and Catering Jobs</p>
</div>
</div>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h3>Video Transcript</h3>
<p>"A typical day as a chef involves all sorts of things, last-minute challenges can come from anywhere. You name it, there is always something that requires fast thinking to get food out. Lots of food prep, checking and ordering stock. When you get a day where nothing goes wrong, you know you're in for a great day of busy, noisy teamwork.</p>
<p>The best part of being a chef is definitely producing and creating great food that people enjoy eating. I also love having the opportunity to share my vision and passion for food.</p>
<p>There are some challenges of course, one of which is getting clear instructions on what is required for you when you first start. Also, your time management needs to be great to overcome last-minute challenges like equipment breaking.</p>
<p>Overall though I love being a chef."</p>
</article>

How to become a Head Chef?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 633px; top: 71.7014px; height: 62.8889px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Warehouse Operative (aka: Picker/Packer, Factory Worker)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Picking and packing stock into boxes, stock management, stacking shelves</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Warehouse Operative?</h2>
<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Warehouse+Operative" target="_self">Warehouse Operative</a>&nbsp;is someone who works in a team that is employed to get goods to customers. This job involves safely unloading items, packing them carefully into boxes, and collecting specific orders to be sent out to people. It can also be called a factory worker or picker/packer job.&nbsp; To find out what it is like to be a Warehouse Operative click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/warehouse-jobs/being-a-warehouse-operative" target="_self">here</a>.</p>
<h2>Where can I work?</h2>
<p>The rise of online shopping has meant there are lots of opportunities for work, especially during busy retail periods like Christmas. And there are lots of types of businesses you could be working for. These include manufacturers and distributors of goods like food and beverages, electrical items, furniture, clothes and just about everything else you can think of.&nbsp; You can find out more about the working environment for a Warehouse Operative&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/warehouse-jobs/working-environment" target="_self">here</a>.</p>
<h2>What are Warehouse Operative shifts like?</h2>
<p>Warehouse operatives usually work on a rotating shift schedule. This means that you may be doing early shifts one week, followed by some days off and then onto late or night shifts. So this type of work is great if you need flexibility with when you work, or are looking for some temporary work. However, the hours will depend on the type of company you&rsquo;re employed by. Not all employers need people to work late or night shifts, so it is possible to find regular hours.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What would I do all day?</h2>
<p>Your day-to-day duties could involve picking and packing stock into boxes or transport areas. These will then be shipped off to customers, retail stores or other warehouses. You may also be counting and recording stock levels, and restocking warehouse shelves. Another important part of this job is accepting deliveries into the warehouse, and loading goods onto vehicles. You can read a full Warehouse Operative Job description&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/warehouse-jobs/warehouse-operative-job-description" target="_self">here.</a></p>
<h2>Am I good fit for this role?</h2>
<p>To be successful in this role, you&rsquo;ll need to have good attention to detail, and work accurately, to ensure that the customer orders you put together are correct. Rushing through orders and making mistakes can be costly for the business, and reflect poorly on your team&rsquo;s performance so it&rsquo;s key to get things right the first time.<br><br>At least basic Maths and English skills will be useful, but there are no requirements for formal qualifications to do this job. It would be useful to have a full UK-issued driving licence, and your employer may require you to do forklift truck training. If you have any experience working in a warehouse, or stocking shelves in a supermarket, for example, this will be a great addition to your CV. Be sure to include it, along with your work experience and education history. More information on the skills required to&nbsp; be a Warehouse Operative can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/warehouse-jobs/skills" target="_self">here.</a></p>
<h2>What is a warehouse job interview like?</h2>
<p>It&rsquo;s important to come across as a reliable and hard-working employee. So if you&rsquo;re invited to an interview for this role, make sure you turn up on time (this means 10 minutes before) and bring any documents or identification the employer has asked for. Before you accept a job, make sure you will be able to get to work, even in the evenings and at night. Warehouses are often in remote areas and aren&rsquo;t always close to public transport. our posts on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/communities/warehouse/how-do-i-prepare-for-a-warehouse-interview" target="_self">H</a><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/communities/warehouse/how-do-i-prepare-for-a-warehouse-interview" target="_self">ow to prepare for a warehouse interview</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/communities/warehouse/how-to-answer-the-10-most-common-warehouse-interview-questions" target="_self">How to answer the 10 most common warehouse interview questions</a>&nbsp;will provide some more helpful advice for anyone ready to apply for a Warehouse Operative role<br>&nbsp;<br>You are unlikely to need a medical examination to get this sort of job. But bear in mind that it can be very physically demanding, and requires you to be standing up for most of your shift.<br><br>This role will suit you if you enjoy working in a team, but are also self-motivated and can work alone without being supervised. Being flexible and able to learn new things on the job will help you do well in this role.</p>
<h2>Are there any career prospects for Warehouse Operatives?</h2>
<p>Temporary work as a warehouse operative can be a great stepping-stone into a company you&rsquo;d like to work for full-time. Showing you have a can-do attitude and are an asset to the team now, could lead to a permanent job in the company. They will also be more willing to invest their time in training you in other areas of the business that you might want to work in. For example, you could move into the transport and logistics side of the business, with extra training such as lorry driving or coordinating incoming and outgoing deliveries.<br><br>If you want to move up the ladder within this type of role, one option is to become a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/warehouse-manager" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Warehouse Manager</a>. This will mean overseeing a section or the whole operation of the warehouse, ensuring that targets and health and safety regulations are met. You&rsquo;ll also be responsible for looking after your staff and making sure customers are happy. The extra responsibility will, of course, mean a higher salary and you may get shifts that are more regular. You are likely to move into a supervisor or junior management role first, then work your way up to higher positions. The various career opportunities for Warehouse Operatives can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/warehouse-jobs/warehouse-career-prospects%20]" target="_self">here.</a></p>
<h2>What else should I know about being a Warehouse Operative?</h2>
<p>Working in a warehouse is no easy job, but it can be rewarding if you enjoy meeting targets and prefer to be on your feet than at a desk. Warehouses are busy places, so it&rsquo;s important to be aware that it can be loud and seem hectic at times; but don&rsquo;t worry, you just need to stay focused on your job and meet health and safety standards at all times. Recently, the media has again highlighted the poor working conditions for staff in warehouses; particularly those of larger online retailers in the UK, but not all employers are the same. Finding a good team to work with and a company that treats its staff well is possible. The interview is a good chance to see what the company is like and what sort of people work there.<br><br>This is also a good job for learning and showing future employers that you have good transferable skills for lots of other jobs. For example, it will show you can follow instructions and work safely within health and safety regulations. It will also improve your communication and team working skills. As you progress and gain more responsibility, you can also build up your people and leadership skills, which are great for any job where you manage a team.<br><br>If you&rsquo;re aiming to gain permanent employment from a temporary warehouse operative job, speak to the hiring manager about this in your interview. Ask how likely it is and how many people they normally keep on after busy periods. The festive period like Christmas also gives you the chance to do overtime and pick up extra shifts, if you need the extra cash. A recent employer interview reveals more information on how to go from temp to perm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/communities/warehouse/how-to-go-from-temp-to-perm--top-tips-from-an-employer" target="_self">here</a>.</p>
<p>For more tips, tricks and advice including videos and infographics for those interested in or working in the warehouse and logistics industry can be found&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/warehouse-jobs/warehouse-tips" target="_self">here</a>.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Warehouse+Operative/" target="_self">Warehouse Operative jobs&nbsp;</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches" target="_self">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Warehouse Operative?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 74.4681%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 15.5346%;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 84.2043%;">Barista</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 15.5346%;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 84.2043%;"><br>Taking customer orders and payment, making and serving drinks and keeping the bar area clean.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 15.5346%;"><strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 84.2043%;">
<p><strong><br><br>Top and Bottoms:&nbsp;</strong>Usually your own clothes, that you don't mind getting messy<br><strong>Shoes:&nbsp;</strong>Every day <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shoes</a> are fine, ones that you don't mind being splattered with coffee<br><strong>Apron: </strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/front-of-house-aprons/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aprons</a> are usually provided by the employer to protect your clothes</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Barista?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>If precision and efficiency is your cup of tea, and you work well under pressure, you could make a great barista. As with many jobs in hospitality and catering, there are lots of different places you could work. You don&rsquo;t need a formal qualification, so building up your experience and knowledge in your field is key.</p>
<p>The day-to-day duties of a barista usually include setting up the coffee machine, taking orders and payment from customers, making coffees and serving them, cleaning as you go, machine maintenance and closing up at the end of the day. As you gain more experience and become a valuable member of the team, you will gain more responsibility. Such as keeping check of your stock and ordering what you need, including things like coffee beans, various types of milk, take away cups and cleaning equipment.</p>
<p>So what is going to make you stand out? It&rsquo;s all about a thirst for knowledge, says Adrian Mancuso, barista academy trainer at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fivesenses.com.au/">Five Senses Coffee</a>, &ldquo;I always look for a barista who knows their craft. If you&rsquo;ve never worked as a barista before, don&rsquo;t just guess. Ask the right questions and show a willingness to learn. Someone who has an open mind and is eager to learn is going to make the best barista,&rdquo; he says.</p>
<p>When starting out, you have two options: formal training or find somewhere that will teach you on the job. Lots of places say they require you to already have some experience so Mancuso recommends that new candidates look for a coffee training school. &ldquo;Find somewhere that specialises in all forms of coffee training. Starting with a basic espresso course is always best; this will give you the confidence you require in an interview and follow up trial shifts.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Spend some time to consider your training options, and what is right for you. There is usually the option to study part-time, which leaves time to work.</p>
<p>But if training isn&rsquo;t a route for you, don&rsquo;t give up yet. Try to find someone who is happy to employ you as a barista from the start. A good teacher is always key for perfecting a new skill. &ldquo;Look for a place that has a good level of service and a great understanding of the coffee they&rsquo;re working with, if they can&rsquo;t give you a job ask them to recommend places to check out,&rdquo; Mancuso adds. &ldquo;Be a good student, listen to them, ask questions and start soaking up coffee knowledge from wherever you can. Go into coffee shops on your days off, drink their coffee, and chat to the baristas if you can. See what information you can find online or even go to your local library.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Barista vacancies are often advertised on job boards, Facebook groups or through word of mouth. When applying for barista jobs, it&rsquo;s important to highlight all of your relevant experience. Any jobs you&rsquo;ve had serving customers or working front of house will be useful when applying for your first role as a barista.</p>
<p>Working as front of house staff is another route you could take to becoming a barista if you have no coffee experience. Firstly, find a place with an espresso machine that is looking for staff. The next step is to show your interest in coffee, and offer to help the barista out where you can; even if it&rsquo;s collecting clean mugs or restocking the milk fridge for them. When it&rsquo;s quiet on the customer front, and only if your manager is happy with it, you could then ask them for a few tips and demonstration on the espresso machine.</p>
<p>If you take this route, be honest with your manager about your intentions to become a barista from the start. And always make sure you are fulfilling the job you were employed to do. If you&rsquo;re going to do it this way, you&rsquo;ll need to be patient, grateful of any guidance and soak up as much as you can.</p>
<p>Some coffee shops are also independent roasters. As a way to educate customers, and ultimately sell their coffee, they sometimes offer public cuppings. These tasting sessions are often run by one of the roasters (read: extremely knowledgeable barista). Try to go to one, as it&rsquo;s a great way of learning about how coffee beans are grown, prepared and turned into delicious coffee. Make the absolute most of these sessions; ask questions, write notes, and you never know who you might meet. Your future boss might be standing next to you.</p>
<p>Pay and hours for baristas can vary greatly depending on where you work and type of employment. If you land a permanent contract you will probably be working around 40 hours a week. Hourly rates will differ depending mainly on your experience and responsibilities of the role.</p>
<p>Casual hours can be great for providing flexibility; when applying for jobs you&rsquo;ll have the choice whether to work somewhere that is open only during the day, all day and night, or from lunchtime until dinner. Think about what would suit your lifestyle and other commitments. For example, if you&rsquo;re a student who has classes during the day, evening barista shifts in a restaurant might suit you &ndash; just don&rsquo;t over work yourself or over commit to something you can&rsquo;t keep up.</p>
<p>When you start a new job, if the hours and shifts aren&rsquo;t set, be clear about which days you could work and the amount of hours that would be ideal for you. Remember as a temporary employee, you aren&rsquo;t guaranteed a number of hours, and could be sent home early if it&rsquo;s very quiet. This is the nature of temporary work in hospitality and catering. If you would like the extra shifts you can always offer to pick up some front of house shifts too.</p>
<p>In terms of career progression, it&rsquo;s up to you to push yourself and keep moving forward. As Mancuso points out: &ldquo;Baristas have a wide range of opportunities in the coffee industry." For example, moving into a management role, working in a roastery or as a roaster. Some other avenues may be working as a part of the training team or administration for a roaster or coffee school.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Barista">barista jobs</a>,&nbsp;and for CV and cover letter writing guidance,&nbsp;<a href="https://novoresume.com/career-blog/barista-resume">view this in-depth resume resource for Barista's</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch</a></p>
<h2>What's it like to be a Barista?&nbsp;</h2>
</article>
<div class="flex-video widescreen">
<div class="VideoObject"><iframe id="widget2" class="optanon-category-C0004 " title="What's it like to be a Barista? | Hospitality and Catering Jobs" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5Hv6XtvwTdE?enablejsapi=1" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-ot-ignore="" data-gtm-yt-inspected-11="true"></iframe>
<p>What's it like to be a Barista? | Hospitality and Catering Jobs</p>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h3>Video Transcript</h3>
<p>"A typical day as a Barista involves all sorts of things; you make a lot of coffee.</p>
<p>It's really important to keep a tidy work station throughout your shift and organise the daily equipment to keep the service running smoothly.</p>
<p>The best part about being a Barista is receiving a smile from a happy customer when they get their coffee. You get to talk to people from all walks of life and hear their stories.</p>
<p>The most challenging parts about being a Barista is trying to stay upbeat especially during a very long shift and the repetitiveness can be a struggle sometimes.</p>
<p>Overall though I love being a Barista."</p>
</article>

How to become a Barista?

<header class="page-title l-section"></header>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>Overview</h2>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td>LGV Cat C1 Driver (aka: 7.5 tonne driver)&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td><br>Transporting goods, route planning&nbsp;and completing paperwork.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></td>
<td>
<p>LGV Cat C1 driving licence, and a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</article>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<p>The transport and logistics industry in the UK is huge, this means it&rsquo;s a great career to get into for proficient drivers who can hold their concentration for long periods on the road. If you are prepared to invest a little time and money into the training required to become a LGV driver, it can be a very rewarding career. There are four different categories of LGV licences, which we explain below.</p>
<p>The primary responsibilities of a LGV Cat C1 driver is to safely transport goods from A to B. You will be required to record the deliveries and goods received, as well as planning your route and you may have to liaise with customers.</p>
<p>You can expect long hours in this role, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/eu-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">EU rules state</a>&nbsp;that you may not work more than 9 hours a day or 56 hours a week. All lorry drivers must record their hours on a tachograph, which should be explained by your employer.&nbsp;</p>
<p>What used to be called a heavy goods vehicle (HGV), or lorry, is now referred to as a large goods vehicle (LGV) in the UK. It is important to know what type of lorry you would like to get a job driving in, so you know which training and special licence you need. In the past, LGV has also been used to mean a light goods vehicle, which is now called a light van or delivery van and can be driven on a car licence.</p>
<p>If you would like to get into the transport and logistics sector, and have a car licence you could jump straight into a job as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/find-a-job/career-advice/how-to-become-a-delivery-driver">delivery van driver</a>. Similarly, you can drive a light van up to 3.5 tonnes with just a car driving licence. If you&rsquo;re thinking about lorry driving as a career but have never done it, or can&rsquo;t afford to do the training right away, both are good options. These jobs will also give you valuable work experience as a professional driver, which will help you get a job after you have completed your LGV training.</p>
<h2>What do I need to become a LGV Cat C1 Driver?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>So, you know you want to get a LGV driver job, but which licence do you need? To drive a lorry up to 7.5 tonnes, you will need a LGV Cat C1 licence, which we explain in this article below. Any vehicle larger than this and you need an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/find-a-job/career-advice/how-to-become-a-class-2-hgv-driver">LGV Cat C licence</a>, which allows you to drive vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, with a trailer up to 750kg. The highest level of LGV licence is Cat C+E. This additional category E on your licence is the highest level, and means you can have a trailer size over 750kg, and is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/find-a-job/career-advice/how-to-become-a-class-1-hgv-driver">explained in this article</a>.</p>
<p>All LGV licences are additional to a car driving licence, which you must have already. If you need to find out how to get a car driving licence in the UK, all of the information is on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) website</a>. Being a lorry driver means you are required to obtain a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card.</p>
<p>The first step is to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/applying-for-a-bus-or-lorry-provisional-entitlement" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply for a provisional lorry licence</a>. Similarly to the car driving licence, this is done through the DVLA website, but you also require the D4 form to be filled in by a registered doctor. This is because drivers of lorries must be in reasonably good health. Be aware that you will have to either pay a private company to do the medical assessment and complete the form, or for your local GP&rsquo;s time required to complete the form for you. The areas that will be assessed include your eyesight, any neurological and heart conditions, mental health, alcohol and drug use, diabetes and sleep disorders.</p>
<p>You must send this medical assessment (D4) to the DVLA along with form D2, which you have completed yourself, along with your photocard driving licence. The DVLA will then assess whether you are fit to drive a large vehicle, and then process your application and provisional lorry licence. Make sure you&rsquo;ve filled in all of the correct details; missing or incorrect information will delay getting your provisional licence. You should receive the provisional licence within three weeks of the DVLA receiving your application.</p>
<p>The next stage is a four-part theory test called the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). You need the full driver CPC if lorry driving is the main part of your profession. You can read about all of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/driver-cpc-part-1-theory-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the four driver CPC tests here</a>, and how to book each of them through the DVLA website.</p>
<p>When going for the tests, make sure you take all of the required documents with you; otherwise, you can&rsquo;t take the tests, and will have to pay again to rebook. Just like the car driving tests, it&rsquo;s essential to prepare for your driver CPC tests. There are lots of learning tools available online, which explain each theory test, and allow you to do practice questions. Start by reading all of the information the DVLA provides.</p>
<p>The tests follow a similar format to the driving licence theory test but are longer and more extensive. Once you have booked and passed the theory tests, you will need to then find a good training provider to prepare you for the practical tests.</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve passed all parts of the driver CPC you&rsquo;ll be sent a card, which you must carry at all times when driving a lorry professionally. In order to keep your driver CPC, you must take&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/driver-cpc-training" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">35 hours of driver CPC training</a>&nbsp;every five years to stay qualified. All of the information you need about becoming a qualified lorry driver in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.</p>
<p>To help you pass these tests, and in your day-to-day duties as a LGV Cat C1 driver, good English and maths skills will be useful. Good communication skills are also important when taking instructions from your manager, and talking to other colleagues in your team.</p>
<p>With your CPC under your belt, you&rsquo;re ready to start applying for jobs. Most vacancies will be advertised online. When you find one that is suitable, make sure you read all of the job description and how to apply. It&rsquo;s important to explain why you want the job and why you&rsquo;d be a great addition to the company&rsquo;s team of drivers.</p>
<p>Driving LGVs is a great job if you&rsquo;re someone who can work well independently, as well as in a team when needed. The ability to think on your feet and good problem solving skills will also help you on the job when planning routes or dealing with unexpected problems or delays. While this is a career with lots of opportunities and job satisfaction, it&rsquo;s important to realise that the working hours may impact your work-life balance and you may be required to work away from home.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=LGV+Driver" target="_self">LGV driver jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>
</article>

How to become a LGV Driver?

<p><strong>Responsibilities &nbsp; &nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Assisting the Chef de Partie with food preperation and serving. &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Dress Code &nbsp; &nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Top: Usually a chef white (long or short sleeved) or plain t-shirt</li>
<li>Bottoms: Usually black or checkered chef trousers</li>
<li>Apron: Usually a plain apron or butcher&rsquo;s striped apron</li>
<li>Shoes: Black kitchen-safe chef shoes</li>
<li>Hat: Chef&rsquo;s scull cap and/or hair net and beard net if required</li>
</ul>
<p>Handy Hints</p>
<ul>
<li>If your uniform isn&rsquo;t provided by the employer, always ask what is accepted</li>
<li>Uniform should always be clean at the start of every shift and in good condition (eg. no rips, holes or large stains)</li>
<li>Most places of work in the hospitality and catering industry require chefs to have their own knives and basic tools, remember to take yours. If it&rsquo;s your very first job as a commis chef, ask the hiring chef for a recommendation for your first chef knife and where to buy equipment</li>
<li>Always be sure to take water or another drink to your shift and stay hydrated</li>
</ul>
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become a Commis Chef</h2>
<p>A job as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Commis+Chef">commis chef&nbsp;</a>is often the first step on the ladder in your kitchen career. Whether you want to open your own place, become the executive chef of a leading chain of restaurants or something in between, hard work is the most important thing you&rsquo;re going to need.</p>
<p>There are two routes to becoming a commis chef: get straight into a job in the kitchen or get some formal training. The benefits of hitting the ground running in a cook or commis chef job is that you&rsquo;ll be getting paid from day one, and will immediately start gaining hands-on experience. But bare in mind, it may be tricky to persuade the hiring chef to take you on for your first gig. Make sure your enthusiasm and passion will show them that you&rsquo;re worth investing their time to train you. Remember, a great attitude and work ethic goes a long way, especially in the kitchen.</p>
<p>With lots of education options, your chef training may be in the form of an apprenticeship, a traineeship, a diploma in cookery, an NVQ (national vocational qualification) or a hospitality-based degree.</p>
<p>Choosing to take formal training or not, and then which training route you opt for will depend on your circumstances and preferences. Take your time to decide what route is right for you, and if you know someone in the industry ask for their advice. If your passion is to become a great chef don&rsquo;t let paperwork or a few rejections stop you. As Julia Child, renowned American chef, once said &lsquo;find something you&rsquo;re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it&rsquo;.</p>
<p>A great way to find the balance between getting practical experience, pay and training is through an apprenticeship, especially if you&rsquo;ve just left school. These are structured entry-level jobs, which reach varying levels of qualifications in cookery and hospitality. You can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/topic/further-education-skills/apprenticeships">find out more about apprenticeships on the government website</a>.</p>
<p>Whichever path you choose, especially if it&rsquo;s straight into a commis chef job, you&rsquo;ll be learning everything from those you work with so choose wisely. Food you&rsquo;re inspired by and will enjoy learning to make, and chefs who want to teach you are some things to look out for.</p>
<p>And don&rsquo;t be work shy. Typical chef shifts can be between 8-15 hours so you must be prepared to work hard and remember you&rsquo;re starting from the bottom.</p>
<p>Commis chef jobs may be publically advertised on jobs websites,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/">specialist staffing websites</a>&nbsp;or in newspapers. Sarah Archer, career coach and founder of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.careertree.org.uk/">Career Tree</a>, also advises that: &ldquo;Employers in this sector often advertise jobs by word of mouth, Facebook or a local advert so get talking to people. Visit hotels and restaurants in the area to enquire if they have any vacancies.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Have a great one page CV that shows your passion for cooking and interest in food, plus any qualifications you might have in food hygiene or cookery, and leave it with them. Keep popping back to see if anything has changed,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>And although this is an entry-level role, and positions can be on a casual basis, it&rsquo;s important to always maintain a professional manner when applying for these jobs.</p>
<p>As this is a hands-on role, and you don&rsquo;t require formal training, you can expect to be asked to go into the workplace for a trial. This is a great first step and your chance to show the employer you&rsquo;d be a good addition to the team. It&rsquo;s also essential for you to see the type of kitchen you&rsquo;d be working in, what the food is like and who you would be working with. This will usually be for an hour or two. If you will be working for any longer than this, it is reasonable to ask whether you will be paid for your time. It will usually involve a short interview, or &lsquo;chat&rsquo; as chefs like to call it, and some time in the kitchen.</p>
<p>To impress the hiring chef or restaurant manager at a trial, make sure you turn up 10-15 minutes early, take your uniform (or something that&rsquo;s appropriate to wear in a kitchen) and knives if you have them. Before you go, think about how to answer questions like &lsquo;why do you want to work here?&rsquo; Have a look at the menu first, by going online or even going in as a customer, if you can, to see what the place is like.</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve landed the job, there&rsquo;s a lot to learn as a commis chef. There&rsquo;s always something to do in a kitchen, and often there&rsquo;s also lots that needs to be done.</p>
<p>As a commis chef, you&rsquo;ll often be assigned to a section and work under the guidance of a chef de partie or more senior chef. They will show you how the section should run. You might, for example, start on the sandwich or starters section. This can often be the least busy section of the kitchen so it&rsquo;s a great way to learn the basics and also observe how other chefs are working.</p>
<p>But don&rsquo;t expect it to be easy, you&rsquo;ll have to learn to prioritise jobs, work quickly and cleanly and also be willing to help chefs on busier sections. Even if this means running to the local shop because someone forgot to order carrots! As well as the food preparation and serving side, the less exciting tasks of cleaning, organising fridges or stock rooms and thinking about orders for the next day are also important.</p>
<p>After getting some invaluable experience under your belt in this role, your next step up the ladder would typically be to the role of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-chef-de-partie">chef de partie</a>, or demi chef de partie.</p>
<p>Browse the latest<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Commis+Chef">&nbsp;commis chef jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Commis Chef?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 87.414%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 13.3333%;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 86.4407%;">Kitchen Assistant (aka: Kitchen Hand, Dishwasher, Pot Wash)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 13.3333%;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 86.4407%;"><br>Basic food preparation and cleaning of food preparation and serving areas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 13.3333%;"><strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 86.4407%;">
<p><strong><br>Top:&nbsp;</strong>Usually a plain <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/shirts-t-shirts-and-polo-shirts/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">t-shirt</a><br><strong>Bottoms:&nbsp;</strong>Usually plain black or navy <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/staff-uniforms/uniform-trousers/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trousers</a><br><strong>Apron:&nbsp;</strong>You should be provided with a <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">waterproof apron</a> to protect you and your clothes<br><strong>Shoes:&nbsp;</strong>Usually black <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kitchen-safe shoes</a> (like plastic chef shoes) or trainers<br><strong>Gloves:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/workwear-and-ppe/gloves/_/a33-2.f8-1?sort=match-rate-desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waterproof washing-up gloves</a> may also be provided to protect your hands from sharp items and hot water</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h4><strong>Handy Hints&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Uniform should always be clean at the start of every shift and in good condition (eg. no rips or holes). Take note of what other kitchen porters are wearing and don&rsquo;t be afraid to ask what is allowed</li>
<li>Always be sure to take water or another drink to your shift and stay hydrated</li>
<li>If you&rsquo;re allowed to wear your own clothes, make sure you don&rsquo;t mind them getting dirty</li>
<li>If a waterproof apron and gloves aren&rsquo;t provided, it would be reasonable to ask for some</li>
</ul>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become a Kitchen Assistant?</h2>
<p>Your role as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=kitchen+assistant">kitchen assistant&nbsp;</a>is to support the whole kitchen. Whether it&rsquo;s in a small caf&eacute;, large restaurant, hotel complex, or school, your duties will usually include basic food preparation and cleaning of food preparation and serving areas. For example, you may be asked to peel vegetables, make up sandwiches or help tidy and organise the stock room.</p>
<p>To be a star kitchen assistant you need to be able to work quickly and to the required standard. You&rsquo;ll be someone who is always happy and willing to help the chefs. Although you won&rsquo;t be expected to know exactly how to do things, any experience in a similar role will certainly help. Depending on the size of the kitchen, often in smaller workplaces you may also be responsible for cleaning dishes and kitchen equipment.</p>
<p>If you are hoping to use this role as a stepping stone into a career as a chef, every task you do in the kitchen is a great way to show the head chef or other chefs what you can do. This is also a perfect role if you&rsquo;re looking for a job with flexible hours or have no formal qualifications. There will be lots to learn and you can&rsquo;t be afraid of hard work, or cleaning! The ability to listen to instructions, reliably turn up and be flexible with your time will make you a good candidate.</p>
<p>Kitchen assistant roles are often advertised online and on local job boards or in the newspaper. You might also find, especially if you live in a big city, that there are Facebook groups for hospitality and catering workers, which advertise for these sort of jobs.</p>
<p>Make sure you read the job description fully, and apply in the way that it asks. Whether that means directly through the jobs website, by sending an email or by going in with your CV or resume in person. You&rsquo;ll want to show any experience you have that might be relevant, what days of the week you would be available and the earliest date that you could start the job. Remember if you have a contract with another job you should make sure you work your notice period. It&rsquo;s always a good idea to give any current employer at least a week&rsquo;s notice of a new job, remember you may need them as a reference in the future.</p>
<p>As you don&rsquo;t need and formal training or experience for this sort of job, it&rsquo;s very likely the employer will want to arrange a trial shift with you. This should be for an hour or two in the place of work, any longer than this and it is reasonable to ask whether you will be paid for your time. While it&rsquo;s not ideal to work for free, it is the best way for you to show you can do this job, see what the work is like and meet other people who work there.</p>
<p>At the trial, you need to show the employer that you can take instructions carefully. You can read about the usual dress code for a kitchen assistant in the box above. So they might explain how to rinse or scrub the dishes, and then put them in the machine. Make sure you listen carefully and ask if you&rsquo;re unsure about anything. Remember as much as you can and make sure you smile and greet other people who work there. First impressions are very important, these will hopefully be your new work colleagues so you want to get off to a good start.</p>
<p>If this trial is successful and you&rsquo;re offered the job, try to get the employer to send you an email or give you a job contract. If it&rsquo;s a more casual position, you&rsquo;ll need to ask verbally how much you&rsquo;re going to be paid, and what sort of hours you will be working. If you&rsquo;re not sure about your working rights, ask someone you trust for advice or read about it on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker">government&rsquo;s website here</a>.</p>
<p>After getting some kitchen experience under your belt in this role, your next step up the ladder would be the role of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-commis-chef">commis chef</a>. This is one of the most common career paths to becoming a chef for people who have just left school or are looking to change industries.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=kitchen+assistant">kitchen assistant jobs&nbsp;</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>
<h2>What's it like to be a Kitchen Assistant?</h2>
</article>
<div class="flex-video widescreen">
<div class="VideoObject"><iframe id="widget2" class="optanon-category-C0004 " src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_TuusKbRZEQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-ot-ignore="" data-gtm-yt-inspected-11="true"></iframe>
<p>What's it like to be a Kitchen Assistant? | Hospitality and Catering Jobs</p>
</div>
</div>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h3><br>Video Transcript&nbsp;</h3>
<p>"A typical day as a Kitchen Assistant involves all sorts of things, taking deliveries of new food and drink stock items, making sure they are in the right place. Cleaning tasks to meet hygiene standards and help with basic food prep like slicing fruit and veg.</p>
<p>The best part about being a Kitchen Assistant is most definitely learning and having a laugh with your team. I also love that there is always more to be done so time goes really quickly.</p>
<p>It really is a tough jobs sometimes, it's not uncommon that it's up to you to clean up unpleasant messes left by customers or staff and constantly changing circumstances means having to think on your feet.</p>
<p>Overall though I love being a Kitchen Assistant."</p>
</article>

How to become a Kitchen Assistant?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 75.7129%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 15.4047%;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 84.3342%;">Bartender</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 15.4047%;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 84.3342%;"><br>Taking customer orders and payment, making and serving drinks and keeping the bar area clean.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 15.4047%;"><strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 84.3342%;">
<p><strong><br>Top and Bottoms:&nbsp;</strong>Usually your own clothes, ask for the dress code.&nbsp;<br><strong>Shoes:&nbsp;</strong>A pair of <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">comfortable shoes</a> you don't mind getting messy<br><strong>Apron:&nbsp; </strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/front-of-house-aprons/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aprons&nbsp;</a>May be provided by the employer to protect your clothes&nbsp;</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>What do I need to become a Bartender?</h2>
<p>Do you enjoy following recipes to the letter or love to let your creative juices flow by adding your own flair to a drink? If you don&rsquo;t mind late nights, busy crowds and working under pressure then you may want to consider a job as a bartender.</p>
<p>The opportunities and places in which you could work as a bartender are endless, as there are lots of different types of establishments that serve drinks. This includes pubs, university student bars, fancy cocktail bars, fine dining restaurants, private members&rsquo; clubs or even someone&rsquo;s personal bartender.</p>
<p>Spend some time going to bars in your local area, have a drink and observe what&rsquo;s going on. Then think about the type of place you&rsquo;d like to work. Work out what your values are and what you want to learn. Then once you&rsquo;ve got this clear, it&rsquo;s time to start finding your dream bartender job.</p>
<p>Job vacancies will be posted on specialist jobs websites and hospitality job groups on Facebook, and also through word of mouth. Don&rsquo;t be afraid of going into places in person and asking the manager if they have any vacancies. People are often hired in bars for their personalities and fit with the clientele, so try to find a place that you like the feel of. And don&rsquo;t take it personally if you don&rsquo;t get a job, they may have found someone with more experience.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s important to apply for any job vacancy in the way the advert or manager asks. Follow the instructions carefully; it may be sending an email, filling in a job application form, making a phone call or going in person.</p>
<p>When writing your CV or talking in an interview, be sure to highlight any previous bartending experience you have. As well as any experience you have with serving customers, dealing with money and working in a fast-paced environment. These qualities will show that you&rsquo;re a good candidate.</p>
<p>As with most hands-on jobs in the hospitality and catering industry, you will often be asked to go into the workplace for a short interview and trial. It&rsquo;s essential to arrive on time and dress appropriately. This doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean a smart suit; it will depend on the type of place the bar is situated in. For fine dining restaurants or smart cocktail bars you will want to dress more formally than for a job in your local pub bar. Visit the bar before your trial to check out what the bartenders are wearing if you&rsquo;re unsure.</p>
<p>Remember, it&rsquo;s not all about your mixing skills and discerning palate. Behind the bar, it&rsquo;s still about customers leaving with a smile on their face. You&rsquo;ll also need to show the employer you&rsquo;re friendly, reliable and someone they&rsquo;d want to employ.</p>
<p>If you can&rsquo;t get a bartending job right away, you may find yourself starting out on the floor serving drinks and clearing tables, or as a &lsquo;barback&rsquo;. Also known as a runner or bartender&rsquo;s assistant, this is often the first stepping-stone for someone with no bartending experience. It&rsquo;s a tough job and you&rsquo;ll be starting from the bottom with the most unglamorous tasks, often in the busiest times (eg. weekends). But if you can prove your worth here, start learning where things are kept and a few simple recipes and your moment to step up will come. It&rsquo;s also a great chance to find a bartender who you look up to and want to learn from. Help them out in the busiest service times, and maybe they&rsquo;ll lend you some advice.</p>
<p>The day-to-day duties of a bartender usually include taking customer orders and payment, making drinks, serving drinks and keeping the bar area sparkling. As you gain more experience, you may also be recording recipes, shaping the drinks menu and responsible for sourcing out suppliers of certain ingredients. If you&rsquo;re starting as the barback, you&rsquo;ll be restocking fridges, taking deliveries, cleaning glasses, and helping out wherever you can in the busiest of times. You can read more about working as a barback&nbsp;<a href="https://www.abarabove.com/barback/">here</a>.</p>
<p>If you have the time and resources, you may want to consider getting some formal training. There are lots of options for people with no bartending experience, all the way up to the most advanced courses, so have a look around before you sign up. Soak up as much knowledge as you can, and take every opportunity to network with people you meet. Bartending work is often found through word of mouth so creating a good first impression is key. Look for certified courses in your area, or check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.barschool.net/">European Bartender School</a>, which has locations around the world.</p>
<p>As a full-time bartender in the UK, hours can vary greatly depending on the type of workplace and how busy they are. National bank holidays, most of December and the summer months are often the busiest, which can mean you&rsquo;re often working when others are enjoying time off. This is why it&rsquo;s so important to love your work. Evening work is often inevitable, but it&rsquo;s in your hands to discuss with your manager your ideal number of hours and days off.</p>
<p>In terms of career progression as a bartender, the ball is generally in your court. If you join a large hospitality group, there&rsquo;s more chance of being given opportunities to move up the ladder and gain more responsibility, and better pay. But you&rsquo;ll only go as far as you can push yourself. Whether your aim is to manage a large team of bar staff, create the drinks menu for a top cocktail bar, travel to work in the world&rsquo;s best bars or win bartender of the year, you can choose which direction to take your bartending career.</p>
<p>Browse the latest<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Bar+staff">&nbsp;bartender jobs</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch</a></p>
<h2>What's it like to be a Bartender?</h2>
</article>
<div class="flex-video widescreen">
<div class="VideoObject"><iframe id="widget2" class="optanon-category-C0004 " title="What's it like to be a Bartender | Hospitality and Catering Jobs" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t-gmSoToOKY?enablejsapi=1" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-ot-ignore="" data-gtm-yt-inspected-13="true"></iframe>
<p>What's it like to be a Bartender | Hospitality and Catering Jobs</p>
</div>
</div>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h3>Video Transcript</h3>
<p>"A typical day as a Bartender involves all sorts of things; preparing the correct drinks and keeping the customers happy. Cleaning and storing your equipment in the right places and working at different venues like events and restaurants.</p>
<p>I think the best part about being a Bartender is getting to meet so many new people and making friends within your team. The hours are really flexible as well, meaning I have time to do other things I enjoy.</p>
<p>It certainly comes with its challenges though, customers can be rude or difficult especially when over-drinking is a factor. Listening to customers carefully when it gets busy and noise levels escalate can also be tough.</p>
<p>Overall though I love being a Bartender."</p>
</article>

How to become a Bartender?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="height: 138px; width: 669.889px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Reach Forklift Truck Driver (aka FLT Driver)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Arranging and stacking goods in the correct place.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">
<p>Forklift licence</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Reach FLT Driver?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A reach forklift truck driver usually works in a warehouse, and is responsible for moving goods and materials. But it&rsquo;s not as simple as it sounds. Operating a forklift requires precision and concentration, and is a physically demanding job. A reach FLT can reach up to 4.5 metres and there are many aspects to consider in order to complete the job safely.<br><br>There are warehouses needing qualified reach FLT drivers all over the country. So you shouldn&rsquo;t have to move for a job if you don&rsquo;t want to. This also means there are lots of opportunities and vacancies for you to apply for.<br><br>In full-time employment you can expect to work up to 48 hours a week. Shift work is common in this type of role; this can give you flexibility with days off but also means early starts, and working in the evening and at weekends.<br><br>Your day-to-day duties will involve arranging and stacking goods in the correct place, and ensuring the relevant paperwork is complete for each of your tasks. As with many roles that require you to operate high-risk machinery, you will also be responsible for vehicle maintenance and adhering to health and safety regulations.<br><br>You cannot legally operate a reach FLT without a licence. So, before you start applying for jobs it can be beneficial to do your training and licence test. The good news is you don&rsquo;t need to have any experience of driving a forklift truck to start learning with an accredited training provider.<br><br>In the UK, there are various approved training companies:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.aitt.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Association of Industrial Truck Trainers</a>&nbsp;(AITT),&nbsp;<a href="http://www.itssar.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register</a>&nbsp;(ITSSR),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lantra.co.uk/awards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lantra Awards</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://npors.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Plant Operators Registration Scheme</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.constructionskills.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Construction Industry Training Board</a>&nbsp;(CITB). Start by looking for a training centre that is close to where you live, then go in or call them about enrolling in the reach FLT training course. Before you sign up and pay the fees, make sure this is the career you want to go into and that you&rsquo;ve gone through any questions you have with the training provider.<br><br>As someone with no forklift experience, you will do between three and six days of training before you take the test. Some training centres may offer financing options if you don&rsquo;t have the money to pay upfront. Make sure you find out and understand all of the information about the repayment and terms before you sign up.<br><br>The forklift driver training will cover all the key areas; such as Health and Safety Executive (HSE) legislation and safety guidelines, an introduction to the forklift truck, how to start, stop and basic manoeuvring, operating with pallets and loads, and difficult loads.<br><br>At the end of your training, you will be tested before getting your reach forklift licence. The test has two parts, a theory test and a practical skills test; it has a similar format to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">getting a car driving licence in the UK</a>.<br><br>Once you have your have your reach forklift licence, it&rsquo;s time to start applying for jobs. Vacancies will usually be advertised on specialist jobs boards, and online on the careers page of companies&rsquo; websites. Make sure you read the full job description and apply in the way that it asks. This could be by sending an email, using an online job application form or by calling them to find out more about the job. Don&rsquo;t forget to include details of your licence, you work history and education, as well as any relevant work experience you have. This could be working in a warehouse or factory, or driving professionally. It&rsquo;s very important to be on time (this means 10 minutes early) for your interview and don&rsquo;t forget to be friendly and professional.<br><br>It may be possible to find an employer to take you on without a licence, and provide your training in-house or even arrange for you to undertake the training. This option is good because it means you don&rsquo;t have to pay for the training yourself, but these opportunities will be harder to get. You will have to show the employer that you will make an excellent worker and are worth them investing their time and money to get you a licence. If you&rsquo;re unsuccessful applying for reach FLT driver jobs without a licence, consider arranging the training for yourself.<br><br>After three years, the HSE recommends that you do a refresher course, which takes half to a full day. This is also required if you change employers, or are seen to be operating a FLT unsafely or are involved in an accident. Use it as a chance to get up-to-date on the current rules and legislation and to improve your technical skills and understanding of the machinery.<br><br>This is a physically demanding job, and there will be times when you need to safely move heavy items yourself. You will not normally need a medical examination to undertake training, but future employers may do a health check before offering you a job. If you&rsquo;re worried about your suitability and healthiness for the job, you could talk to your training provider before signing up.<br><br>There are no specific qualifications or education subjects required for this type of role. However, you will need basic numeracy skills and to be able to speak, read and write in English well enough to do the training and forklift driving licence test explained above. If you are concerned about whether you have adequate Maths and English skills, speak to the training provider for advice.<br><br>Experience of working in a warehouse or factory will be a bonus when applying for jobs as a reach forklift truck driver. Make sure you include this on your CV when applying for jobs. You will need to have good attention to detail to be successful in this role. This means noticing when machinery isn&rsquo;t working properly, being able to accurately move loads in confined spaces, and estimate the weights of loads. Another important skill is being able to stay focused in busy or loud environments, and not getting distracted.<br><br>Being highly organised, and efficient as you work, is always important in the workplace. The ability to work in a team and take instructions from your supervisor or team leader is also key. Maturity and being able to work sensibly is very important. Operating any forklift has the potential to be dangerous and cause injury or damage. Taking your job seriously and always acting with a high level of professionalism will make you a stand out employee in the transport and logistics sector.<br><br>If you want to progress your career and make yourself a more employable candidate, it is worth considering extending your forklift licence. A conversion course for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-counterbalance-forklift-truck-driver">counterbalance forklift trucks</a>&nbsp;normally takes two days, and it will then mean you can drive 99% of all forklift trucks in the UK. As you already have experience, and the training is shorter, the cost for this is less than the beginner training. You could also look into becoming a warehouse manager, forklift driving trainer or&nbsp;<a href="https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/job-profiles/forklift-truck-engineer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">forklift truck engineer</a>.<br><br>This is a stable career choice with lots of opportunities for hard-working and reliable FLT drivers. As you gain more experience, you can expect to be paid a higher salary.&nbsp; This is a great job if you enjoy being active and working in a close-knit team. But it is not an easy job, and you must be prepared for the long hours and shift work.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=FLT+Driver+" target="_self">FLT driver jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch .</a></p>

How to become a Reach Forklift Truck Driver?

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<div class="l-container">
<p>Entering the job market &ndash; or re-entering it after a long while &ndash; can feel daunting. Industries and businesses change at pace, meaning it is easy to find yourself without the right skills or qualifications for certain roles.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are various ways to upskill yourself and get the experience or financial support you need to succeed in jobs you may be interested in. A number of industries continually require new staff, particularly those with driving jobs, roles in warehouses or offices, and catering staff. By building the skills needed for these roles, you will not only be more attractive to employers, but you will also be properly prepared to succeed in the role and enjoy it for a longer time.</p>
<p>If the thought of gaining new skills, experience or training sounds overwhelming to you, then look no further. In this article, we take you through the financial and practical support available to help you gain the skills and confidence you need to succeed.</p>
</div>
</article>
<article class="rich-text-article primary-bg full-width">
<div class="l-container">
<h2>Will starting work affect your benefits?</h2>
<p>If you&rsquo;re currently on any government benefits, you&rsquo;re not guaranteed to lose these when you start working. It depends on how much you earn and your own personal situation. If you start out by doing some volunteer work or work experience, you may still be able to claim benefits. Your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jobcentre Plus</a>&nbsp;work coach can help you manage changes to your benefits as you navigate your new situation.</p>
<p>There is also some additional government funding to help you find employment. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Your-Situation/Looking-for-work/Getting-Into-Work/UK-Wide-Schemes#FSF" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flexible Support Fund</a> (FSF) helps you prepare for interviews and starting work, covering things like travel costs and the clothing you might need to start your job. It can also pay for childcare for your first month in employment. You are eligible for the FSF if you are claiming certain benefits, but it is up to the Jobcentre Plus advisers to decide whether you can have access to it based on your situation.</p>
</div>
</article>
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<div class="l-container">
<h2>Can you apply for a job grant?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.jobcentreguide.org/claiming-benefits/38/job-grants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Job grants</a> can also help you manage financially when you start your new job. They are one-off, tax-free sums designed to cover the gap between your benefits ending and your first pay. They can also help you adjust to your role, such as paying for workwear you may need to buy. You are eligible for a job grant if you have been on certain benefits for at least 26 weeks. Your new job contract also needs to be at least 16 hours a week &ndash; or you could be increasing your hours at your current job. As job grants are discretionary payments, Jobcentre Plus will ultimately decide if you are eligible.</p>
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<div class="l-container">
<h2>Job support for people with disabilities or long-term health conditions</h2>
<p>If you have a disability or long-term health condition,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Access to Work programme</a> can help you overcome any obstacles you may experience to enter the workplace. You may be eligible for the Access to Work grant, which can cover the costs of additional support you need to find a job or stay in work. This could pay for things like transport to the place of interview or work, lip speakers, an interpreter and/or note taker for meetings, equipment and aids you may need in the workplace, and advice for your employer. Access to Work also provides practical support based on your unique needs. You might be given a plan to help you adjust to life in work, including flexible work patterns, a phased entry to the workplace, mentoring, additional training, extra time on tasks or ongoing support from an adviser.&nbsp;</p>
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</article>
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<div class="l-container">
<h2>Charities that help jobseekers</h2>
<p>A number of charities offer more targeted support to help different members of the community access help in finding jobs and a meaningful career. Below are some example charities offering this kind of support.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/get-job" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Prince&rsquo;s Trust</a>&nbsp;&ndash; aimed at helping young people (aged 16-30) build confidence and explore career avenues. It offers free courses, mentoring and access to work experience.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-support/financial-and-employment-support/employment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Royal British Legion</a>&nbsp;&ndash; offers support for serving personnel and veterans to find suitable jobs.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/employment-plus/local-support-jobseekers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Salvation Army</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Employment Plus (E+) Local provides practical guidance in local centres and can give you access to computers to help with job applications.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.papworthtrust.org.uk/work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Papworth Trust</a>&nbsp;&ndash; supports people with disabilities into work through advice, work experience and training opportunities.</li>
</ul>
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</article>
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<div class="l-container">
<h2>Your next steps</h2>
<p>Whether you have been unemployed for some time or you are completely new to the world of work, entering the job market can feel intimidating. The support schemes and charities mentioned above can help give you focus and confidence from the minute you find and apply to jobs to your first day in the role. For more advice on what to do next in your job search, visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice">career advice page</a>, or to start exploring opportunities available now, search&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/find-a-job">our current jobs</a>.</p>
</div>
</article>
</div>
</article>

Back to work grants courses and advice for jobseekers

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Sales Advisor</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><br>Assisting customers, arranging refunds and exchanges, serving customers at the till.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Sales Advisor?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>With rarely a dull moment and no two days the same, working as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Sales+Advisor" target="_self">sales advisor&nbsp;</a>can be an exciting entry-level role or part-time job. And there are many different types of retail businesses where you could work.</p>
<p>Any shop that&rsquo;s open to the public needs hard-working and reliable people to serve its customers, so there are plenty of opportunities out there. This means you could try to find somewhere where you are interested in the products being sold. Hopefully this will make your day more interesting and make you better equipped to advise the customers.</p>
<p>Pay and number of hours can vary greatly depending on the business, location and your experience. Your hours could vary week-to-week depending on how busy it is, and you may be offered flexible hours. If you&rsquo;re full-time you may be offered a salary, which comes with added benefits of annual leave and sick pay.</p>
<p>Your day-to-day tasks will often involve serving customers at the till, arranging refunds or exchanges, tidying the shop floor and assisting customers. In the back of the shop, you may also be accepting deliveries of new stock, organising stock and ensuring everywhere is clean and tidy.</p>
<p>With no formal qualifications or experience often required, this is a great entry-level job if you&rsquo;ve just left school. But you&rsquo;ll have to impress a potential employer before they offer you the job. Whether you&rsquo;ve recently finished with education or need to earn some cash while you do further study, you should find that hours can be flexible and tailored to suit your situation. This is especially true for larger stores that are open for more hours, like supermarkets.</p>
<p>Good communication skills are highly valued in this role. You&rsquo;ll need them when interacting with customers, your manager and colleagues. This includes being able to understand and respond in an appropriate way. The ability to deal with difficult or upset customers will also be useful. If you&rsquo;ve never handled tricky situations at work before, you could ask your manager for some advice when you start the job. It is always helpful to think about being in the customer&rsquo;s situation and think what you would want to hear. Simply listening to their concerns and seeing how you can help them is a good place to start.</p>
<p>Numeracy skills and the ability to follow shop procedures shown to you by your manager or supervisor are also important. There will be systems in place for certain tasks and it&rsquo;s important that you&rsquo;re able to follow instructions carefully. Using the till and taking payments will be shown to you, but basic knowledge of numbers and mathematics will be required.</p>
<p>As there are no formal qualifications required for this role, any experience that you have of working with customers will be a bonus to your application. Be sure to highlight this on your CV and when talking to a potential employer in an interview. Being able to show that you work well in a team and any examples of leadership skills will also add to your application.</p>
<p>Job vacancies for sales advisors are often advertised online on specialised jobs boards, or a company&rsquo;s career page on their websites. And you may find that some places, especially small independent shops, will still put a notice up in the front window if they&rsquo;re looking for staff. If you can, it&rsquo;s a good idea to go with your CV in person and speak to a manager. If the job advert is online, or you live far away, you&rsquo;ll need to respond in the way it asks. This might be sending an email, making a phone call or completing an online application.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re successful and invited to an interview, be sure to dress appropriately and arrive on time. It&rsquo;s always better to be a little overdressed and early to a job interview. As it&rsquo;s a hands-on job, you may also be required to do a short trial on the shop floor. This is a great chance for you to see what the people and work is really like. Unless you live rurally, you&rsquo;ll probably have a few choices of where you could work as a sales advisor so see what options are out there.</p>
<p>Working for a business where you&rsquo;re interested in the product or service will likely mean you enjoy your job and will be better able to advise or sell the products. But don&rsquo;t worry, this doesn&rsquo;t mean you&rsquo;ll only get a job if you like the products on offer. A willingness to learn and some relevant skills should be enough to land the job. A personal interest is a bonus for your potential employer. In the interview, highlight this interest if you can, and show that you&rsquo;ve done some research into their products. This can be as easy as going into the shop beforehand, or looking online, and shows you&rsquo;re eager to get the job.</p>
<p>Any experience that you&rsquo;ve had dealing with customers face-to-face, taking payments or money will be useful to highlight in your application. Showing that you&rsquo;re reliable and hard working will also go a long way. If it&rsquo;s your very first job, don&rsquo;t let having no work experience put you off. Full on-the-job training will be provided if you can show you&rsquo;re going to be a good team member.</p>
<p>In terms of career progression within this role, you could aim for a promotion to senior sales advisor. This will mean extra responsibility in the role, such as looking after a particular section or junior members of the team. The next step up the ladder from this may then be to section manager, assistant store manager and then onto store manager. Being reliable, having a positive can-do attitude and great communication skills will help you progress in this role.</p>
<p>If you have no experience, it&rsquo;s a good place to start developing key skills such as communication, problem-solving, working in a team and leadership. Everyone has difficult customers or days when working in retail, try to use it as a learning curve to move forward.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Sales+Advisor">sales advisor jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Sales Advisor?

<h2><span style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</span></h2>
<table style="width: 86.6273%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 13.455%;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 86.317%;">Sous Chef</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 13.455%;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 86.317%;"><br>Run a section of the kitchen, assist the head chef and oversee the whole kitchen in the absence of the head chef.&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 13.455%;"><strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; width: 86.317%;">
<p><strong><br>Top:&nbsp;</strong>Usually a <a href="http://https//www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/chef-jackets-and-tunics/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chef white</a> (long or short sleeved) or plain <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/shirts-t-shirts-and-polo-shirts/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">t-shirt</a><br><strong>Bottoms:&nbsp;</strong>Usually black or checkered chef <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/chef-trousers/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trousers</a><br><strong>Apron:&nbsp;</strong>Usually a <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/all-aprons/bib20aprons/_/a33-3.f8-1?sort=match-rate-desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plain apron</a> or <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/butchers20aprons/_/a33-2.f8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">butcher&rsquo;s striped apron</a><br><strong>Shoes:</strong>&nbsp;Black <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kitchen-safe chef shoes</a><br><strong>Hat:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/headwear-and-neckerchiefs/chef-beanies-and-skull-caps/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chef&rsquo;s scull cap</a> and/or <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/lion-haircare-hair-net-light-blue/a291" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hair net</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/lion-haircare-beard-snood-light-blue/b470?cm_sp=Peerius-_-productRecsTop-_-image" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beard net</a> if required</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h4><strong>Handy Hints&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Uniform should always be clean at the start of every shift and in good condition (eg. no rips or holes).&nbsp;</li>
<li>Always be sure to take water or another drink to your shift and stay hydrated.</li>
<li>Make sure your knives are sharp and you have all the tools you need for the job.</li>
</ul>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become a Sous Chef?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>After years of honing your culinary skills and showing your commitment in kitchens as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-chef-de-partie">chef de partie</a>, it may be time to take your career to the next level by becoming a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=sous+chef">sous chef</a>. Most kitchens have a sous chef so you could be working in a wide range of establishments such as a fine-dining restaurant, busy caf&eacute;, hotel or even on a cruise ship.</p>
<p>But what does a sous chef do? The sous chef is the person who directly assists the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-head-chef">head chef</a>&nbsp;in all areas of the kitchen. You might like to think of it as being their trusty sidekick. Day-to-day, this will normally involve smoothly running your section or the pass during service, supporting junior chefs on sections and placing food orders.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll also be the first port of call when the head chef is not working or otherwise busy. It can be a steep learning curve from working as a CDP so don&rsquo;t be afraid to be asking the head chef for help or advice. At first, it may also help to write yourself notes and a to-do list (not just for prep) so you can remember as much as possible, especially if it&rsquo;s in a kitchen that&rsquo;s new to you.</p>
<p>As the sous chef, you may also be teaching front of house staff about the menu, ensuring guests with allergies and dietary requirements are provided for correctly during service, and making sure the pot wash area is running well. Through ensuring the kitchen has everything it needs to run efficiently, you&rsquo;ll greatly improve your organisational skills. Whether this is ordering paper towels or cleaning chemicals, cooking food for the staff to eat on breaks or even arranging staff drinks &ndash; take each task as an important way to show you&rsquo;re a reliable and hard-working sous chef.</p>
<p>But not only is this your chance to help lead the team, it&rsquo;s a great position to start getting your ideas for menu items out there. With your head chef to bounce ideas off and guide you, they will encourage you to explore new products and dishes. You&rsquo;ll also be learning about staff and running costs, and ensuring menu items will turn a profit.</p>
<p>Excellent communication between you and the head chef is one of the most important things you&rsquo;ll need for the role, as this will ensure the correct information is passed to yourself and then down to the rest of the team. Whether this is about health and hygiene protocols, keeping the staff room tidy or a different cooking technique, the way you talk to people and getting all of the information across is paramount.</p>
<p>Like previous jobs you&rsquo;ve had in the kitchen, hours can be long and you&rsquo;ll most likely be working evenings and weekends. For a full-time role you&rsquo;ll likely be working upwards of 40 hours a week.</p>
<p>So now you have enough kitchen experience and are ready to put in the work, what does it take to land your first role as a sous chef?</p>
<p>Like most jobs in the kitchen, to progress up the ladder to a sous chef job you don&rsquo;t need to have done any formal training. The years you&rsquo;ve spent working as a chef in the hospitality and catering industry will be enough. But you need to consider everything you&rsquo;ve learnt so far and how this will help you in the new role.</p>
<p>&ldquo;To become a sous chef, you need to show leaderships skills and a strong work ethic. Because there&rsquo;s no two ways about it, this industry is hard; there are great rewards but it&rsquo;s not easy. Any chef who enters the kitchen should have the ambition to move as quickly as they can from commis, to CDP to sous chef, and then to head chef. You need to have that when you come to a one Michellin-starred restaurant,&rdquo; says Galton Blackiston, Chef Patron of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.morstonhall.com/">Morston Hall</a>&nbsp;in Holt, Norfolk.</p>
<p>Blackiston said that what he enjoyed most when he worked as a sous chef was becoming one of the key people in the kitchen, as he&rsquo;s always enjoyed being a team player. &ldquo;Being a sous chef is also about being someone junior chefs can come to, without bothering the head chef. And it doesn&rsquo;t always need to be about cooking, you&rsquo;re there to provide an ear. It makes you start being very responsible in the kitchen,&rdquo; Blackiston adds.</p>
<p>For most sous chef roles, and especially at larger establishments, positions are often advertised online. Be sure to also seek out any contacts you have in past kitchens as chef jobs at this level also come about through word of mouth. As with any chef job you&rsquo;ve gone for, apply in the way the advert asks and be prepared to go in for a trial and interview.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll need to spend some time preparing before you go to meet the potential employer. Take each element of the job, outlined in the job description, and think of examples that show you have the skills and experience in each area. This shows the hiring chef why you&rsquo;d be good for the role with real life instances. Make a great first impression and show them why you&rsquo;d be an asset to their team.</p>
<p>A good stepping-stone into this role can be as the junior sous chef, who assists both the sous chef and the head chef. Larger kitchens are more likely to have this in-between role on offer.</p>
<p>The natural next step for an accomplished sous chef is normally to the role of head chef.&nbsp; Read our advice on&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-head-chef">how to become a head chef</a></strong>.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=sous+chef">sous chef jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>
</article>

How to become a Sous Chef?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="height: 140px; width: 634px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Delivery Driver (aka Multi Drop Driver, Home Delivery Driver, Tow Truck Driver)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Collecting goods from a warehouse, shop or collection point, delivering goods and collecting signatures.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">
<p>Full drivers licence</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Delivery Driver?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=delivery+driver" target="_self">delivery van driver</a>&nbsp;is responsible for collecting goods and transporting them to customers or clients. There are many types of companies you could work for, based all over the country, from retail businesses to courier services. So you could, for example, be delivering furniture, clothes, electrical goods, car parts, plants and anything else that will fit in your van.</p>
<p>And the good news is that with an increase in online shopping, the need for multi-drop drivers is increasing; so there are lots of job opportunities out there. This type of work is great if you need flexible working hours or shift patterns, or want to work part-time. Your&nbsp;<a href="https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/job-profiles/delivery-van-driver" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hours will usually be between 20 and 42 hours a week</a>&nbsp;on a full-time contract. It may be possible to work regular day shifts but employers may need you to work some evenings, weekends or during the night.</p>
<p>Your day as a delivery van driver will usually start with collecting goods from a warehouse, shop or collection point. You will load the vehicle, and then ensure your route isn&rsquo;t being affected by traffic or roadworks. Once you get to the drop off address you will be responsible for unloading deliveries and getting signatures if required. Another important part of this job is recording your hours and delivery records. If you&rsquo;re a multi-drop driver you&rsquo;ll move onto the next drop off, or return back to base.</p>
<p>The most important thing you need to work as a van driver, is a car driving licence, which allows holders to drive a van that is less than 3.5 tonnes. If you don&rsquo;t have a licence to drive a car, the process is explained below. If you already have a car driving licence, then the date on which you passed it will affect what size of delivery vehicle you can drive so keep reading.</p>
<p>If you got your car licence after 1 January 1997, you can only drive vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes with it. To drive vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes, you will need further training to get a category C1 licence. To get this, you must be at least 18 years old, and pass medical, theory and practical tests. If you need to get your C1 licence, you must follow the same steps as getting a category C and/or E, which allow you to drive heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). This&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/find-a-job/career-advice/how-to-become-a-class-2-hgv-driver">process is outlined in this article</a>. If you passed before 1 January 1997, you are allowed to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes without the need for a separate C1 licence.</p>
<p>Firstly, to get a car driving licence you must be over the age of 17 to be able to learn to drive and take the test, and have eyesight that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">meets the required standard</a>. The first stage is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-provisional-driving-licence" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">applying for a provisional car driving licence</a>&nbsp;from the government&rsquo;s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Once you have this, the next step is to prepare for the computer-based theory test, and to get driving lessons from an instructor or a qualified driver who holds a full driving licence. You can start practicing for the theory test at any time, and before you start your driving lessons. You are allowed to take the theory test as soon as you have your provisional licence.</p>
<p>Before taking the test, start off by reading&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Highway Code</a>; this is what the test is based on, and is available online for free or you can buy the book. You will need to book the theory test online, and make sure you take all of the required documents with you. If you don&rsquo;t, you can&rsquo;t take the test and will have to pay again to rebook it.</p>
<p>The practical element is a hands-on skill that is tested on real-life roads. You will need to either take lessons from an instructor or be tutored by someone who is over the age of 21, has a full car driving licence and has held it for three years or more. When you feel ready, this&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/book-driving-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">test is also booked online</a>. Again, make sure you take all of the required documents with you.</p>
<p>The practical aspect of the driving test involves five parts: an eyesight check, &lsquo;show me, tell me&rsquo; vehicle safety questions, general driving ability, reversing your vehicle and independent driving. The test is the same for both manual and automatic cars and you&rsquo;ll drive for around 40 minutes. You can read all about what happens during this test&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/driving-test/what-happens-during-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>&nbsp;so you know what to expect. All of the information you need about driving a car in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.</p>
<p>In order to pass the relevant theory and driving tests, and therefore do this job, you will need to be educated to GCSE level in English and Maths. You will also need a reasonably good level of fitness to be able to move the goods in and out of the van and be able to drive for most of the shift.</p>
<p>Other things that will help you succeed as a delivery van driver include good communication skills. This will be important when taking instructions from your manager, liaising with colleagues and also when talking to customers. Being able to solve problems and think on your feet will also help when driving on the roads. It&rsquo;s very important to be a calm and patient driver, as accidents, planned road works and bad weather are things that are out of your control but will affect your working day.</p>
<p>Any experience you have of working in transport and logistics, or driving in a professional capacity, will be a bonus when applying for jobs. Vacancies will usually be listed on specialist jobs boards, and online on the careers page of companies&rsquo; websites. If there is a company you&rsquo;re particularly interested in working for, you could also approach them directly asking if they might have a job for you.</p>
<p>In terms of career progression within this role, you could do&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/moving-dangerous-goods" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">training to allow you to drive dangerous goods and special loads</a>. Or if you want to move on to driving larger trucks or lorries, you could think about getting your Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card, and adding extra categories to your driving licence. You can read about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/find-a-job/career-advice/how-to-become-a-class-2-hgv-driver" target="_self">how to become a class 2 HGV driver</a>&nbsp;here. These jobs typically pay more due to the extra training required and responsibility of driving a larger vehicle.</p>
<p>One of the benefits of being a delivery van driver, not an HGV driver, is that your drop off locations will usually be local. This means you won&rsquo;t be driving for hours on end and won&rsquo;t have to stay away from home over night. It&rsquo;s also a great role if you enjoy a varied workday and don&rsquo;t mind early starts.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=delivery+driver" target="_self">delivery van driver jobs</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>
</article>

How to become a Delivery Driver?

<p>The key to successfully getting the job you want is all in the preparation. You&rsquo;re competing against other candidates, so how you prepare and how you impress your prospective employer will make all the difference in standing out. The average interview time is one hour, so it&rsquo;s crucial that you&rsquo;re well prepared. To help you ace your next interviews below are some of our top tips on;</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#Research">Researching the company</a></li>
<li><a href="#Interview Preparation">Preparing for interview questions</a></li>
<li><a href="#checklist">On the day checklist</a></li>
</ul>
<h2><span style="color: #009fe3;"><a id="anchor_1558101580642" name="Research"></a>Research</span></h2>
<p>Although you&rsquo;ll be fully briefed by your Blue Arrow Consultant about the company and the person who will be interviewing you, it&rsquo;s also beneficial for you to do some thorough research yourself.</p>
<p>Start by visiting the company&rsquo;s website and social media pages to get a feel of the company culture, values, their history and their future goals. Glassdoor reviews from previous employers can also be helpful. See if the company has recently been in the news, had articles published and find out who their competitors are. By learning as much as possible about the company, you&rsquo;ll be able to demonstrate your interest in the role through your research and form some questions to ask at the end of your interview.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #009fe3;"> <a id="anchor_1558101526674" name="Interview Preparation"></a>Interview&nbsp; Preparation</span></h2>
<p>The interview is your opportunity to broadcast your qualities which cannot be assessed from your CV. It&rsquo;s your chance to truly sell yourself, so think about all the relevant qualities that you possess that fit the role.</p>
<p>Re-read the job description to see what the employer is looking for &ndash; keywords like team player, approachable, professional, attention-to-detail, organised are great starting points to describe yourself.</p>
<p>Imagine what it would be like to be working at the company and what skills, experience, qualifications the employer is looking for. Provide positive information that shows what you can do for the employer.</p>
<p>As a starting point, here&rsquo;s a top 10 list of frequently asked interview questions:</p>
<p><strong>1. Tell me about yourself </strong></p>
<p>This is an opportunity to outline your attributes, your strengths and accomplishments that might be suitable for the role. Don&rsquo;t just reel off what&rsquo;s on your CV and don&rsquo;t worry if the interviewer remains silent when you pause.</p>
<p><strong>2. What qualifies you for this job?</strong></p>
<p>Employers want to know your background and experience. Prepare some success stories as examples of what you&rsquo;ve achieved, or how you&rsquo;ve done in the past. Start with the biggest achievement to make an immediate impression.</p>
<p><strong>3. Why do you want to work for this organisation?</strong></p>
<p>According to one survey, 75% of interviewers are put off by candidates that are unfamiliar with their organisation. This is where your preparatory research about the company will help&nbsp;demonstrate what you know about the company. Ensure you talk about the positive points about the company.</p>
<p><strong>4. Why do you wish to leave your present job? </strong></p>
<p>Avoid saying anything negative about your present or previous employers and don&rsquo;t mention money as a motivator. Employers want to feel they are interviewing people who want to work for their brand because of what their brand offers, not by default of it &lsquo;not being your current place of work&rsquo;. Indicate a desire for greater responsibility and challenge, or talk about how you want the opportunity to use your talents and abilities more in a new workplace.</p>
<p><strong>5. Where do you see yourself in 1, 2 or 3 years&rsquo; time?</strong></p>
<p>Replying &lsquo;in your chair!&rsquo; or mentioning any specific goals can be risky as it may sound arrogant or misaligned with the career paths of the organisation. Frame your response so that it shows how motivated you are about the role. Something like &lsquo;I would hope that by then my hard work and enthusiasm would have led to increased recognition and responsibility within this organisation&rsquo;.</p>
<p><strong>6. What sort of salary are you looking for?</strong></p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re unsure of what the job should pay, check out what the average pay is using Blue Arrow&rsquo;s Salary Checker on our website. When talking about money, describe the salary range that the job is worth. Many companies use your current salary as a benchmark (which will include basic pay, bonuses and any extras) but if you don&rsquo;t want to answer this question, try and steer your answer to something like &lsquo;based on my experience and research of other similar positions in this area, I&rsquo;m looking for a salary range of (figure).</p>
<p><strong>7. What are your weaknesses? / What&rsquo;s the worst problem you&rsquo;ve ever faced?</strong></p>
<p>The best &lsquo;weaknesses&rsquo; are those that help you reveal your strengths, such as &lsquo;I dislike not being busy or challenged at work&rsquo; or minor weaknesses that aren&rsquo;t relevant to the role. Keep your answer to one weakness and mention how you&rsquo;re overcoming this weakness.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re asked about what the worst problem you&rsquo;ve ever faced is, then restrict your answer to workplace problems and avoid talking about personal problems or blaming others. Pick a problem that you&rsquo;ve solved and describe how you overcame them. Show yourself to be a good team player by crediting co-workers for their contributions and provide an example of how you analysed and learned from your mistakes.</p>
<p><strong>8. What are your strengths? </strong></p>
<p>Highlight the qualities that will help you succeed in this particular job. Give examples and quantify how your strengths benefited your previous employers. By demonstrating reliability and the ability to stick to difficult tasks without giving up, you will impress your interviewers.</p>
<p><strong>9. How would you describe a typical day in your current job? </strong></p>
<p>Put yourself in the interviewer&rsquo;s shoes when answering. What is it that they want to know?</p>
<p>Rather than exaggerating your current position, show that you are detail-orientated or a good multi-tasker by talking about some of the routine tasks in your day, the importance of paperwork or how thorough you are at planning and organising your time. How do you plan your tasks at the beginning of the day and how do you review your achievements at the end of the day?</p>
<p><strong>10. Do you have any questions?</strong></p>
<p>Remember the interview is a two-way process and if you get the job, you&rsquo;ll need to know whether it suits your lifestyle or meets your expectations.</p>
<p>Avoid asking about holidays and other benefits at this stage. However, if you don&rsquo;t ask the right questions, you may not have another opportunity to cover things that are important to you such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>What&rsquo;s the most important purpose of this position?</li>
<li>What&rsquo;s the most important quality you&rsquo;re looking for from the successful applicant?</li>
<li>Who would I be reporting to / working with?</li>
<li>How many people are in the team / company?</li>
<li>How does this role contribute to the business goals?</li>
<li>What are the long-term opportunities in this company?</li>
<li>What do you like most about working for this company?</li>
<li>What training opportunities are there?</li>
<li>How will the performance of this role be measured?</li>
</ul>
<h2><span style="color: #009fe3;"><a id="anchor_1558101625113" name="checklist"></a>On the day - A checklist for the interview </span></h2>
<p>So you&rsquo;re all ready and prepped with your answers and questions for the big day. Don&rsquo;t forget that there are 4 more very important things you need to pre-prepare for;</p>
<p><strong>&nbsp;1. Arrival</strong></p>
<p>Make sure you know the full address of the organisation and the name of the person who you are meeting. Check the location on a map in advance and maybe even practice the journey prior to the interview if you can.</p>
<p>Arrive a few minutes early so that you have time to compose yourself and feel comfortable in the surroundings. It can help relieve nerves and reduce tension if you have time to sit in reception and breathe deeply and slowly for a minute or two.</p>
<p>It is also worth noting that secretaries and receptionists may be asked subsequently for their impression of you, so treat everyone you meet with politeness and warmth.</p>
<p><strong>2. Attire &amp; Accessories </strong></p>
<p>Make sure you wear something clean, smart, ironed or non-creased that you feel comfortable in. Think about taking a notepad and pen so that you can take notes and politely ask for a glass of water before starting your interview. And don&rsquo;t forget to switch of your mobile phone before you enter the building!</p>
<p><strong>3. Body Language </strong></p>
<p>First impressions last, so don&rsquo;t forget to make eye contact and give a confident handshake. Don&rsquo;t overdo the charm and flattery either. Remember to: Make eye contact throughout the interview Be aware of your hands and arms (don&rsquo;t fidget) Keep an upright posture Communicate your interest in the position Listen carefully to the interviewer</p>
<p><strong>4. Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>Make sure you don&rsquo;t leave the interview without knowing when you will get a decision or if there will be further interviews. If, at any time you weren&rsquo;t able to answer a question, don&rsquo;t panic. It&rsquo;s always better to admit you are unsure of something but that you will now do your best to address the issue. Honesty is always the best policy. Being positive, confident and pleasant means you will have done your best!</p>
<p>Please remember to ring your Blue Arrow Consultant after the interview to give feedback. It is very important that we speak to you as soon as possible after an interview so we can convey your interest to the client.</p>
<p>Our final tip is to download our infographic, so you can easily refer back to these tips. Click <a href="-/media/1b23c82eab0243e888b036f56eec2531.ashx">here</a>&nbsp;to download.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

Interview Tips

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="height: 53.2715px; width: 633px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 26.6309px;">
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.6309px;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.6309px;">Cleaner</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 26.6406px;">
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.6406px;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left; height: 26.6406px;">Upkeep the cleanliness and tidiness of a given area, building or home.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become a Cleaner?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>If you love working independently and leaving things immaculate and gleaming, you should consider a job as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=cleaner" target="_self">Cleaner</a>. Your main responsibility is the cleanliness, tidiness and upkeep of a given area, building or home. This could be rooms in a hotel, a school, hospital, office space, airport, restaurant or anywhere large enough to need a dedicated cleaner or cleaning team. As a sector, it is worth over &pound;24 billion a year to the country&rsquo;s economy, and employs over 700,000 people, according to the&nbsp;<a href="http://britishcleaningcouncil.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">British Cleaning Council</a>. And the industry is set to keep growing, meaning there are more and more jobs out there.<br><br>As a full-time employee you will usually work 38 to 40 hours a week. It&rsquo;s also possible to be paid by the hour, or work part-time hours.<br><br>The shift times for this job can vary across the board, meaning it&rsquo;s great if you need flexible hours or can&rsquo;t work normal hours. So you could be working regular set shifts, night shifts, or shift patterns that change each week. It&rsquo;s the sort of work that allows you to find something that fits around your family or other commitments. It&rsquo;s also a good option if you need some temporary work, or to earn some cash while you&rsquo;re studying.<br><br>Your daily duties will usually include sweeping and mopping floors, wiping, dusting and polishing surfaces, sanitising bathrooms and emptying bins. If you are cleaning hotel rooms you may also be changing bed sheets and towels, and replenishing items for customers. You will also be required to monitor quantities of cleaning products and equipment you need to do your job, and tell your manager when you&rsquo;re running low. Try to keep your stock cupboard neat and organised so you and your colleagues can easily find what you need.<br><br>There are no set qualifications or education subjects needed for this type of work. Your employer or line manager should provide all work-related training. If you have any experience of working as a cleaner, or it was part of another job you&rsquo;ve had, make sure you include this in your application.<br><br>A certificate in COSHH (control of substances hazardous to health) would be useful to include in your application if you have one. If you haven&rsquo;t done this training, it would be beneficial to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/basics.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">read about it here</a>&nbsp;so you&rsquo;re aware of the topic. This is because a cleaner it is important to understand what is in the products you are using, why they could be dangerous and how to use them safely. Things like bleach may be well known to you as hazardous but it&rsquo;s important to always read the label before using new products. It&rsquo;s an important responsibility to always report any accidents or injury immediately to your manager or supervisor while at work.<br><br>It&rsquo;s not required but first aid training would also be useful to include on your CV. Your employer may require you to have a full UK driving licence, especially if you will be going to different locations during your shift. If you don&rsquo;t have a UK-issued driving licence, you can&nbsp;<a href="http://https//www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">read about how to get one in this step-by-step guide</a>.<br><br>You&rsquo;ll also need to be in reasonably good health for this type of role. It could involve lifting heavy boxes, climbing ladders, reaching and bending down and other movements. You will most likely be on your feet for the whole shift. It&rsquo;s important to have a keen eye for detail and work methodically through your cleaning. Not everything you do will be checked by someone else so it will be up to you to make sure you don&rsquo;t miss anything. If you work somewhere like a hospital, the sanitisation of areas is also crucial to patient safety.<br><br>To do well in this role you will need to work well in a team, but also be self-motivated and able to work without any supervision. This means getting your own tasks done, and also being willing to help others and work together to overcome difficulties. Good communication skills are also important, as well as being friendly, and able to interact with customers if you come across them.<br><br>There is great satisfaction to be had from turning a room around, or cleaning something that&rsquo;s really dirty. If you enjoy working thoroughly and efficiently, this could be a suitable role for you. Being part of a large cleaning team can also be a good way to meet new people if you&rsquo;re new to an area. Places like hotel chains or restaurants also normally offer employee benefits like staff discounts on food, free parking and performance bonuses. If you want the extra cash, you should also be able to do extra shifts or overtime, especially in busy periods like Christmas.<br><br>To progress in this career, you could apply to become a supervisor of a section and work your way up to manager of the cleaning team. This would mean added responsibility of training staff, assigning shifts and ensuring health and hygiene standards are being met. You can expect a pay rise, and this may also mean that you are able to work more regular shifts. To get this sort of promotion you will need to show you have experience of the role, and good leadership and people management skills. Going to work with a positive, can-do attitude will help you stand out as a great employee, and will help when you apply for a promotion or need a reference.<br><br>Another option is to run your own cleaning business. There are lots of factors to consider before setting up a small business, so make sure you have all the tools you need. You will have to do everything from accounting and finances to buying your equipment, marketing your services and dealing with all of your customers. A good place to start is cleaning for individuals or households, and building up from there.<br><br>One of the good things about this job is being able to jump straight in without needing any qualifications or specific training and learning on the job from day one. It can feel isolating if you are working late at night or by yourself for most of the day, but this can suit some people. It means you&rsquo;re not stuck at an office desk all day and don&rsquo;t have to deal with office politics.&nbsp;<br><br>Browse the&nbsp;<a href="http://https//www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=cleaner">latest cleaner jobs.</a><br><br><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Cleaner?

<h2><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00aae3;"><a name="Career Advice" href="#Career Advice">Career Guides</a></span></h2>
<p>Whether you're looking to&nbsp;start, develop or change your&nbsp;career,&nbsp;&nbsp;our career guides will tell you all you need to know about your next role in&nbsp;Hospitality&nbsp;and Catering,&nbsp;Transport and Logistics, Manufacturing and Production, Facilities Management, Admin and Secretarial and Customer Services.</p>

Career Guides

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Recruitment Consultant</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><br>Advertising jobs, screening applicants, selecting candidates for interview, liaising with clients.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Recruitment&nbsp;Consultant?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/sitecore/service/notfound.aspx?item=web%3a%7bBA0BA857-7839-49AF-82FD-04AE216E755B%7d%40en">recruitment consultant</a>&nbsp;is someone who is responsible for pairing people with suitable jobs. This usually means working directly for a recruitment agency, which is used by businesses to outsource their recruitment for temporary, contracted and permanent jobs.</p>
<p>You will usually work regular hours from Monday to Friday. Or, instead of a fixed yearly wage, you may be offered a basic salary, with the opportunity of earning commission or performance-related bonuses. The role could involve early starts or working late if it&rsquo;s required. With the right employer, you should be able to find the option for flexible hours or part-time work to suit your commitments and lifestyle.</p>
<p>Your daily tasks will involve screening applicants to ensure they meet the basic requirements for a role and selecting candidates for interviews. These will usually then be handed over to the client who will conduct the interviews. Your role may involve getting job descriptions from clients that accurately describe the advertised role and the type of person it requires, and publishing usually online.</p>
<p>Another important aspect of this role is liaising deals with clients and ensuring all of their needs are met. As part of this, meeting your sales targets and winning clients is a major part of this role. There will also be applicant and compliance paperwork to handle on a daily basis.</p>
<p>There are no formal qualifications required for the role of recruitment consultant. However, you need to be educated to at least GCSE-level and have good numeracy and literacy skills. Both on-the-job training and formal courses will likely be given to you on the job, especially when you first start in this role. Soak up as much information as you can and ask lots of questions. It&rsquo;s a steep learning curve but with the right support you should start to settle into the role quickly.</p>
<p>So, what makes a great recruitment consultant? Jackie Towndrow, Associate Director at Blue Arrow and based in the St Albans branch, shares her advice for anyone who is considering a career in recruitment. &ldquo;You need determination and a desire to succeed; you need a good memory and a quick mind; and you need to be organised.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Being capable of complete honesty is also really important. This is because you need to be able to give feedback to candidates who haven&rsquo;t been successful and also to clients when you haven&rsquo;t got what they&rsquo;ve asked for, while still reassuring them you have a solution to this. You also need to be happy to work to sales targets and be motivated by that,&rdquo; she adds.</p>
<p>Another thing that will help you to enjoy working in recruitment as much as Jackie has for the last 25 years, is a positive attitude. She explains that optimism and seeing what has gone well for you each day will help you succeed as a recruitment consultant. &ldquo;It can be a really challenging job, and if you&rsquo;re a glass half empty person who focuses on what&rsquo;s gone wrong, then you&rsquo;re going to go home feeling like you&rsquo;ve not done a good job,&rdquo; she says.</p>
<p>When applying for your first recruitment consultant role, any experience of working in an office, sales, or administration will be useful. Excellent communication skills are a must for this sort of career. Whether it&rsquo;s written or in person, effective interaction is needed to become a great recruitment consultant. Computer skills, including Microsoft Office and data entry will be important, too.</p>
<p>The types of people who tend to do well in this sort of role are motivated, reliable, have a keen eye for detail and good problem solving skills. A good understanding of people, their emotions, and an ability to assess their qualities and suitability for a role will help you progress in this role.</p>
<p>Job vacancies are likely to be posted on the recruitment company&rsquo;s own website, and may also be listed on other job search websites. If you know the locations where you would consider work, start researching companies who specialise in recruitment and check their career pages. If it&rsquo;s your first job as a recruitment consultant or you have less than a few years of experience you may find roles listed as junior or even apprentice level. This is a great place to start and will mean you&rsquo;re more likely to get some structured training on the job.</p>
<p>When applying for the job, don&rsquo;t forget that it&rsquo;s not just your potential new manager and colleague who is reading it. This is going to be someone who reads hundreds of CVs a week, so yours needs to really stand out and be free of errors. Make sure you give examples of why you&rsquo;re a good match for the job and have at least one person read over it for you.</p>
<p>You should also ensure you prepare for the interview before you go. Imagine what questions you might be asked and plan out the sort of response, with examples, that you would give. Be sure you know where it&rsquo;s taking place, turn up on time (this means 10 minutes early) and don&rsquo;t forget to smile.</p>
<p>There are lots of opportunities to progress in recruitment. As you gain more experience in this role, you may want to go for a senior recruitment consultant role. This will come with more responsibilities, bigger clients, and junior staff to train and manage. Or, you have a lot of the skills required to work in the recruitment or human resources department of a larger company. Other industries you could consider include sales, marketing or event coordination.</p>
<p>One of the great things about this role is the variety of your work and the satisfaction of helping jobseekers. You may also enjoy meeting your deadlines and targets, and pleasing your clients. The fast-paced nature of the work will also mean you&rsquo;re kept busy and engaged. But it may not always be plain sailing. You will inevitably come across clients and jobseekers who are difficult to interact with. Or, you may have found the perfect candidate who later doesn&rsquo;t turn up for their first day of work. Your ability to think on your feet, communicate effectively and make decisions will help you when these situations arise.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/sitecore/service/notfound.aspx?item=web%3a%7bBA0BA857-7839-49AF-82FD-04AE216E755B%7d%40en">recruitment consultant jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Recruitment Consultant?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Receptionist</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><br>Welcoming people into the building, delaing with phone calls, managing diaries, sorting post</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What do I need to do to become a receptionist?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>You&rsquo;re the face of the company, and the first person a customer, colleague or visitor will meet. So it&rsquo;s all about presentation, manner and the ability to multi-task. The phone might be off the hook, with deadlines fast approaching, but as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Receptionist">receptionist</a>&nbsp;you&rsquo;ve got to stay calm and patiently deal with whoever comes into the building.</p>
<p>Working as a receptionist is a great entry-level role. It will hone many transferable skills needed to progress in the administrative sector, or move on to a wide range of industries.</p>
<p>There are many possibilities of where you could work as a receptionist and it&rsquo;s worth noting that the type of company will affect the style of reception work you undertake, although the overall duties will be similar. From a local council&rsquo;s entrance, to a school, or the front of a modern tech company, each workplace has a different feel. This will mean different types of people working there to interact with. Or, you could mostly be dealing with customers working on the front desk of a hotel or public services building.</p>
<p>While welcoming people into the building will always be your top priority, your first task of the day will normally be attending to emails. Throughout the rest of the day you will take and deal with phone calls, take guests to meeting or waiting rooms and sort the post. You may also be responsible for managing meeting rooms and diary appointments of your colleagues. Accepting external mail and parcels, recording deliveries and sorting internal post may also be down to you. This is especially true if there is no admin team or administrative assistant working in the company.</p>
<p>As with most jobs in the administration and secretarial industry, being organised is a key quality you&rsquo;ll need, and be willing to develop. From the tidiness of your desk, to having systems in place to help the workings of the business run smoothly, being organised will be a useful tool. Think about the most effective and efficient way of dealing with your day-to-day tasks, assign places for things and always maintain a personal to-do list. It&rsquo;s likely that you&rsquo;ll be taking on this role from someone else so learn how they have done it, then see if you can improve things.</p>
<p>Communication skills are also essential for making a great receptionist. This will help you in all forms of contact, whether it&rsquo;s on the phone, over email, in a typed letter or in person. Listening and responding in a clear and helpful way is an important part of your job.</p>
<p>There are no formal qualifications required for most receptionist roles. However, some do require specialist knowledge and training such as medical or legal receptionists, to ensure they can complete technical responsibilities that go with that role.</p>
<p>If you are able to, you could consider a business degree or business-related national vocational qualification (NVQ), which is a work-based qualification. Training provider&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/business-skills">City &amp; Guilds</a>&nbsp;has information on their website, and offer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/qualifications-explained/qualification-comparisons">different levels of NVQ</a>&nbsp;depending on your education and experience in the workplace.</p>
<p>Any experience in a customer-facing role will be great to include when you&rsquo;re applying for a receptionist job. Talking to people face-to-face, understanding how you can help and dealing with difficulties in a professional manner are important skills to have as a receptionist.</p>
<p>This is a great role if you love interacting with people, problem-solving and helping others. Whether it&rsquo;s catching the last post for a colleague, or helping a customer with their transport issue, you&rsquo;ll enjoy the wide variety of things that land on you desk.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll need to be friendly, approachable and take a flexible approach if you want to stand out in your role. It would be impossible to list every task you may come across in a job description, so be reasonable and do your best.</p>
<p>When starting out at a new company, learning people&rsquo;s names, and maybe more importantly, who the big bosses are will put you in a good position later. If you&rsquo;re being shown how to do something, or a complicated process, take notes for yourself and ask lots of questions. It&rsquo;s important to show you&rsquo;re eager to learn, and that you&rsquo;ve listened carefully to instructions.</p>
<p>A lot of the skills you learn as a receptionist are transferable skills that will stand you in good stead for many office-based roles. One progression from the role of receptionist is to office manager. Especially in smaller workplaces, knowing the ins and outs of the company&rsquo;s internal workings will make you an important person to have around. If you progress to office manager you may be directly assisting the CEO, looking after new employees, office supplies and maintenance, and processing company expenses.</p>
<p>You could also look at moving into other admin and secretarial positions such as personal assistant, administrator or secretary. This is also a great stepping-stone and invaluable experience for working in other sectors like human resources, marketing or project management.</p>
<p>A great part of a receptionist&rsquo;s job is interacting with lots of people. No two days are likely to be the same, and if you&rsquo;re self motivated you&rsquo;ll push yourself to do better each day. You&rsquo;ll feel glad when you learn to effectively deal with problems and issues that come your way, and enjoy a smooth working day. Even on tough days, it&rsquo;s likely that you&rsquo;ve helped at least one person that day so try not to dwell on it.</p>
<p>It can feel overwhelming when you start a new job as a receptionist, especially if it&rsquo;s your first time in the role. There will be people coming to your desk, and calling from within the company and outside, and asking questions which you may not yet know the answer to. Deal with what you can, and then ask for help with the rest of the queries. If your manager isn&rsquo;t there at the time, start a list of questions to ask them later. Just remember that everyone had to start somewhere regardless of what job they are doing now.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Receptionist" target="_self">receptionist jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Receptionist?

<p style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;">Finding your next job can sometimes feel like a daunting prospect. On top of the time it takes you to source vacancies that suit your skills at locations within commuting distance from your home or that allow you to work from home &ndash; not to mention completing all the job application processes &ndash; how can you be sure that the company you&rsquo;re applying to work at will be somewhere you&rsquo;ll feel happy?</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;">A good employer values and respects its staff, provides a safe working environment, helps individuals to develop their skills, be fully supportive and open to feedback &ndash; and rewards people for their hard work. Essentially, an organisation that&rsquo;s completely committed to creating a great place to work for all its employees.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;">So, how do you go about finding an employer with these attributes? The answer is by doing some research. From information found on a recruitment agency website to the company&rsquo;s own website, to insider information available via the likes of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://www.glassdoor.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Glassdoor</a>, you can find useful intel that provides you with a pretty good idea of what a company is like to work for.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</p>
<section class="collapsible-section">
<div class="l-container">
<div class="collapsible-intro">
<div class="component-header">Here are some pointers to guide your research:</div>
</div>
<div id="cl1_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl1_content" aria-controls="cl1_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">How much information does the job ad supply?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">
<p>A well-written, detailed job spec demonstrates that a company or recruitment agency like Blue Arrow is truly invested in finding the right people. Going to a lot of effort to attract good candidates is a positive sign, suggesting that once you&rsquo;ve taken on a role with the employer, they&rsquo;ll invest in you as well.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cl2_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl2_content" aria-controls="cl2_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">What&rsquo;s the company&rsquo;s history?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">
<p>How long has the employer been in business? How does it compare to other companies in its industry? Has it been in the news for legal or financial troubles recently? You&rsquo;ll want to be sure that any business you join has a good reputation with aspirations to grow and flourish, providing its employees with stable jobs and possible long-term opportunities.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cl3_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl3_content" aria-controls="cl3_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">Do the company values match yours?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">
<p>For example, do they champion things that are important to you &ndash; whether that&rsquo;s diversity and inclusion, the environment and sustainability, or wellbeing and mental health. If an organisation&rsquo;s values align with yours, chances are you&rsquo;ll feel right at home.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cl4_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl4_content" aria-controls="cl4_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">What&rsquo;s the company culture really saying?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">
<p>Within any business, its culture is its personality, driving how it values and treats its employees. Review personal testimonials from current employees about what it&rsquo;s really like to work there or have a look at Glassdoor reviews to provide you with some valuable company culture insight.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cl5_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl5_content" aria-controls="cl5_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">Can you fit your life around the hours you&rsquo;ll be contracted to work?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">How many work hours will you be expected to work in a &lsquo;normal&rsquo; week? Is weekend or shift work required? Will you have to be &lsquo;on-call&rsquo; when you&rsquo;re not at work? Is there an opportunity for flexible working? How many paid holidays will you receive? The hours that you&rsquo;ll be working at a job are important to consider for a healthy work-life balance and to fit around all the other parts of your life.
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cl6_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl6_content" aria-controls="cl6_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">Does the company offer fair rates of pay?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">
<p>You may be entitled to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage</a>&nbsp;so you should check that the compensation package meets this during the application process. Also, what perks would you be entitled to? For example, is there a contributory pension scheme, private healthcare or a rewards scheme? Will you get employee discounts on anything such as shopping, exercise classes or cinema tickets? Make sure you understand precisely what you&rsquo;ll be entitled to and when &ndash;&nbsp;for example, will you have to complete a probationary period before being able to access any benefits?</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cl7_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl7_content" aria-controls="cl7_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">Is it a viable commute for you?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">
<p>However good the job sounds, if you&rsquo;re not able to work remotely, be realistic about how much time you&rsquo;re willing to spend commuting there and back every day. If you would need to drive, do you risk getting stuck in rush-hour traffic that will add extra time to your commute and see your stress levels soaring? Will the time you&rsquo;ll spend travelling affect your commitments outside of work? Also factor in the cost of your commute when comparing pay rates across different jobs &ndash; fuel, parking costs or train fares can make a sizeable dent in your take-home pay.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cl8_content" class="collapsible is-active" aria-expanded="true"><a class="collapsible-header" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work#cl8_content" aria-controls="cl8_content">
<h6 class="collapsible-header-child">What skills can you learn and will training be provided?</h6>
</a>
<div class="collapsible-content">
<p>Will the company provide on-the-job training, workshops or structured courses? Will it give you the opportunity to grow your skillset or gain qualifications? The best employers offer a range of support to progress your career.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<article class="rich-text-article light-grey-bg full-width">
<div class="l-container">
<p>Setting aside some time to do a little research will help you decide whether a particular job really will suit you and if you&rsquo;ll feel genuinely enthusiastic about working at that employer. This, of course, is something that benefits everyone &ndash; you&rsquo;ll be happier in the role and feel inspired to do a great job and are likely to stay with the company for longer.</p>
<p>What&rsquo;s more, if you search for a job via a reputable employment agency like Blue Arrow, you&rsquo;ll know that their mission is to match the right candidate with the right role within a renowned company, taking the pressure off you.</p>
<p>Blue Arrow works with lots of sought-after employers including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/featured-employers/working-with-compass-group">Compass Group</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/featured-employers/working-with-bt">BT</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/featured-employers/working-with-lloyds-banking-group">Lloyds Banking Group</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/featured-employers/working-with-hovis">Hovis</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/featured-employers/royal-mail">Royal Mail</a>, helping them find people with the right skills that suit all manner of roles &ndash; from catering to driving jobs, manufacturing to office or retail work and more. Just imagine which companies Blue Arrow could match you with and where your next job application could take you...</p>
</div>
</article>
<section class="narrative-panel-section using-rich-text   primary-bg  ">
<div class="l-container">
<div class="image"><img src="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/-/media/bluearrow/career-advice/what-makes-an-employer-a-great-place-to-work/narrative-panel/greatplacestoworknarrative.jpg?h=428&amp;w=428&amp;la=en&amp;hash=C8E0B7DDD2EBA5947F820942E29C4F06" alt="Blue Arrow great places to work"></div>
<div class="text">
<div class="component-header">Great places to work</div>
<p>Blue Arrow understands the importance in finding a great company to work for to support you and your career. View a selection of fabulous companies who have lots of vacancies that you could apply for.</p>
<p><a class="" title="" href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/great-places-to-work" target="">Find out more&nbsp;</a></p>
</div>
</div>
</section>

What makes an employer a great place to work

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="height: 126px; width: 634px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 26.8125px;">
<td style="height: 26.8125px;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="height: 26.8125px;">Counterbalance Forklift Truck Driver (aka FLT Driver)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 26.8125px;">
<td style="height: 26.8125px;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="height: 26.8125px;">Arranging and stacking goods in the correct place.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 72.375px;">
<td style="height: 72.375px;"><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></td>
<td style="height: 72.375px;">
<p>Forklift licence</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>What do I need to do to become a Counterbalance FLT Driver?</h2>
<p>Drivers of counterbalance forklift trucks are responsible for transporting goods and materials. This is the most common type of forklift driver, so once you have your licence you will be a highly employable candidate in the transport and logistics industry. Counterbalance FLTs can be operated indoors or outdoors, and are able to be driven on uneven floor surfaces. However, it cannot extend as high as reach FLTs, which requires different training and licence.<br><br>As an operator of a counterbalance forklift, you could find yourself in many different types of workplaces; from construction sites to ports, warehouses, storage yards and factories. There are transport companies all over the country ready to employ counterbalance FLT drivers. In full-time employment you can expect to work up to 48 hours a week. Shift work is common in this type of role, which can give you flexibility with days off but also means early starts, and working in the evening and at weekends.<br><br>Your day-to-day duties will include unloading goods from trucks, ships or aircrafts, and moving them to the correct place. You may also be picking items for delivery orders and loading them. As with any operator of a potentially dangerous transport vehicle, you will also be responsible for maintaining the safety of your machine, and ensure you&rsquo;re following health and safety regulations at all times.<br><br>You cannot legally operate a counterbalance FLT without a licence. So, before you start applying for jobs it can be beneficial to do your training and licence test. The good news is you don&rsquo;t need to have any experience of driving a forklift truck to start learning with an accredited training provider.<br><br>In the UK, there are six approved training companies:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.aitt.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Association of Industrial Truck Trainers</a>&nbsp;(AITT),&nbsp;<a href="http://www.itssar.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Independent Training Standards Scheme and Register</a>&nbsp;(ITSSR),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lantra.co.uk/awards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lantra Awards</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://npors.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Plant Operators Registration Scheme</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rtitb.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Road Transport Industry Training Board</a>&nbsp;(RTITB),&nbsp;<a href="http://www.constructionskills.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Construction Industry Training Board</a>&nbsp;(CITB). Start by looking for a training centre that is close to where you live, then go in or call them about enrolling in the reach FLT training course. Before you sign up and pay the fees, make sure this is the career you want to go into and that you&rsquo;ve gone through any questions you have with the training provider.<br><br>As someone with no forklift experience, you will do between three and six days of training before you take the test. Some training centres may offer financing options if you don&rsquo;t have the money to pay upfront. Make sure you find out and understand all of the information about the repayment and terms before you sign up.<br><br>The forklift driver training will cover all the key areas; such as Health and Safety Executive (HSE) legislation and safety guidelines, an introduction to the forklift truck, how to start, stop and basic manoeuvring, operating with pallets and loads, and difficult loads.<br><br>At the end of your training, you will be tested before getting your counterbalance forklift licence. The test has two parts, a theory test and a practical skills test; it has a similar format to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">getting a car driving licence in the UK</a>.<br><br>Once you have your counterbalance forklift licence, it&rsquo;s time to start applying for jobs. Vacancies will usually be advertised on specialist jobs boards, and online on the careers page of companies&rsquo; websites. Make sure you read the full job description and apply in the way that it asks. This could be by sending an email, using an online job application form or by calling them to find out more about the job. Don&rsquo;t forget to include details of your licence, your work history and education, as well as any relevant work experience you have. This could be working in a warehouse or factory, or driving professionally. It&rsquo;s very important to be on time (this means 10 minutes early) for your interview and don&rsquo;t forget to be friendly and professional.<br><br>It may be possible to find an employer to take you on without a licence, and provide your training in-house or even arrange for you to undertake the training. This option is good because it means you don&rsquo;t have to pay for the training yourself, but these opportunities will be harder to get. You will have to show the employer that you will make an excellent worker and are worth them investing their time and money to get you a licence. If you&rsquo;re unsuccessful applying for reach FLT driver jobs without a licence, consider arranging the training for yourself.<br><br>After three years, the HSE recommends that you do a refresher course, which takes half to a full day. This is also required if you change employers, or are seen to be operating a FLT unsafely or are involved in an accident. Use it as a chance to get up-to-date on the current rules and legislation and to improve your technical skills and understanding of the machinery.<br><br>This is a physically demanding job, and there will be times when you need to safely move heavy items yourself. You will not normally need a medical examination to undertake training, but future employers may do a health check before offering you a job. If you&rsquo;re worried about your suitability and healthiness for the job, you could talk to your training provider before signing up.<br><br>There are no specific qualifications or education subjects required for this type of role. However, you will need basic numeracy skills and to be able to speak, read and write in English well enough to do the training and forklift driving licence test explained above. If you are concerned about whether you have adequate Maths and English skills, speak to the training provider for advice.<br>Experience working in a warehouse or factory will be a bonus when applying for jobs as a forklift truck driver. Make sure you include this and your work history on your CV when applying for jobs.<br><br>You need excellent concentration and accuracy to be effective in this type of role. Manoeuvring the vehicle in tight spaces, and accurately stacking cargo are a key part of this job. You will also need to be organised with the paperwork that is required.<br><br>Working well in a team and being able to communicate with your colleagues will be in important, as it&rsquo;s unlikely you&rsquo;ll be working alone. Listening to instructions and carrying out tasks in the way your manager or supervisor has asked will also be important in this type of work.<br><br>A natural progression for your career, which will also make you a more employable candidate, is to get your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-reach-forklift-truck-driver">reach FLT licence</a>. This extra training is done through a conversion course and normally takes two days. It will mean you can drive 99% of all forklift trucks in the UK. As you already have experience, and the training is shorter, the cost for this is less than the beginner training. You could also look into becoming a warehouse manager, forklift driving trainer or forklift truck engineer.<br><br>This is a stable career choice if you&rsquo;re a practical person and enjoy getting the job done. But, if you don&rsquo;t enjoy early starts or aren&rsquo;t good at concentrating for long periods of time, then this may not be the right job for you.<br><br><br>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=FLT+Driver+" target="_self">FLT driver jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Counterbalance Forklift Truck Driver?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table style="width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 11.6486%;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="width: 88.154%;">Personal Assistant, (aka: PA, Personal Secretary)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 11.6486%;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="width: 88.154%;"><br>Assist one or more people with their work-related tasks and activities, e.g: Taking phone calls, diary management, managing email inboxes.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2><br>What do I need to do to become a Personal Assistant?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>As a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Personal+Assistant">personal assistant&nbsp;</a>(or PA) your primary responsibility is usually to assist one or more people with their work-related tasks and activities. Your hours will vary depending on the type of employment and business. If you&rsquo;re a personal assistant to someone who works evenings and weekends then you can expect to do the same. It is also possible to find a role requiring regular hours from Monday to Friday, or flexible hours.</p>
<p>There are many types of businesses that you could be employed by as a personal assistant. This could be working in the public sector, for example in the NHS or your local council. Many private companies, often the larger ones, employ personal assistants for senior staff to increase their productivity and efficiency. You could also be employed by a private individual or family, which means you may be responsible for more personal daily tasks as well as those mentioned below.</p>
<p>In the role of personal assistant, your everyday duties will usually involve taking telephone calls, and either acting upon them, or passing them through to your manager. You will also be organising their daily meetings. From booking rooms or setting up group telephone conferences, greeting the meeting&rsquo;s guests or callers, and taking the minutes, it&rsquo;s your role to ensure it runs smoothly. You may also be required to attend to emails on behalf of your manager, and receive and send postal correspondence.</p>
<p>As you gain more experience and responsibility as a PA, your role may extend to involve managing other administrative staff members, handling budgets and accounts, doing research and creating reports.</p>
<p>Does this sound like your ideal role? Then it&rsquo;s time to start applying for jobs. Vacancies are often advertised on specialist job boards or on the careers page of a company&rsquo;s website. Narrow down your search criteria for jobs that are a suitable to your level and location if you have a preference.</p>
<p>Before sending off your application, make sure you read through the entire advert carefully. You need to show how you meet the main points of the criteria on your CV and in your cover letter, or on the online application form. Even if you don&rsquo;t meet all of the requirements, it is still worth applying for the role, if you meet most of them. Try to get someone whose opinion you trust, especially if they work in a similar role, to read over your application to check for any spelling mistakes and readability.</p>
<p>If you are successfully invited to an interview, it&rsquo;s essential that you arrive on time and give a great first impression. Think about the questions the interviewer may ask you and the sort of answers you&rsquo;d like to give. And while you&rsquo;re there, remember to be friendly, polite and try not to show that you&rsquo;re too nervous.</p>
<p>There are no formal qualifications or certificates needed to get a job as a personal assistant. Literacy and numeracy skills up to at least GCSE-level are normally required in the role. Knowledge of Microsoft Office and other computer skills will be highly useful. This includes strong typing skills and an understanding of email systems, as these will enable you to be efficient in your job.</p>
<p>The ability to speak and write in other languages than English may be a prerequisite for some jobs that require you to use them. Always include any additional language skills you have on your application, as it could be a bonus for a potential employer. If you have any business certificates, evidence of industry-specific knowledge or a driving license, ensure to also add this to your application.</p>
<p>As with many roles in the administration and secretarial industry, good communication skills are essential. Whether it&rsquo;s written or verbal communication, being able to listen effectively and get information across clearly is very important.</p>
<p>People who tend to do well in this type of role are often highly reliable, organised, great with people and good at solving problems. These soft skills that will help you to succeed in a career as a PA can always be built upon. They are also the sort of skills you will have been developing in other roles or in your education. As a PA, it&rsquo;s also important to always dress and behave in a professional manner at all times, as you are representing your manager and the company who employ you.</p>
<p>Being able to manage your own workload, meet deadlines and prioritise the most important or urgent tasks is also important. You are there to support your manager or managers, who won&rsquo;t always have time to check on your work. If this is an area you need to improve on, think about how you can best use your time to achieve goals and use lists to keep track of tasks.</p>
<p>Previous experience in any administrative role will be a bonus when applying for PA jobs. Make sure you include a career history that highlights any relevant skills you have.</p>
<p>In terms of career progression within this role, you could aim to be promoted to PA to a more senior executive in the company that you work for. You could also consider a role as office manager or another management role in the admin team. With some experience under your belt, you could look at moving into another industry that builds on the skills you have learnt; such as human resources, project management, event coordination or recruitment.</p>
<p>This is a great job if you enjoy new challenges and variety in your work. If you love talking to people and going above and beyond to help others this could be a rewarding career. While it may feel like someone else is taking the credit for company successes, it&rsquo;s important to remember the part you played. You should keep a mental note of personal successes, and these should be highlighted in progress meetings with your manager or supervisor.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Personal+Assistant" target="_self">personal assistant jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch</a>.</p>

How to become a Personal Assistant?

<h2 style="color: #00aae3;">Overview</h2>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Chef de Partie (aka Line Chef, Section Chef, Station Chef)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong><br>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><br>Overseeing a section of the kitchen and preparing food within that section. Training any Demi Chef de Partie's and Commis Chef&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;"><strong>Dress Code</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">
<p><strong><br><br>Top:&nbsp;</strong>Usually a <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/chef-jackets-and-tunics/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chef white</a> (long or short sleeved) or plain <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/shirts-t-shirts-and-polo-shirts/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">t-shirt</a><br><strong>Bottoms:&nbsp;</strong>Usually black or checkered chef <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/chef-trousers/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trousers</a><br><strong>Apron:&nbsp;</strong>Usually a <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/all-aprons/bib20aprons/_/a33-3.f8-1?sort=match-rate-desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plain apron</a> or <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/aprons/butchers20aprons/_/a33-2.f8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">butcher&rsquo;s striped apron</a><br><strong>Shoes:&nbsp;</strong>Black <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/footwear/_/a33-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kitchen-safe chef shoes</a><br><strong>Hat:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/chefs-clothing-aprons-footwear/headwear-and-neckerchiefs/chef-beanies-and-skull-caps/_/a33-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chef&rsquo;s scull cap</a> and/or<a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/lion-haircare-hair-net-light-blue/a291" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> hair net</a> and <a href="https://www.nisbets.co.uk/lion-haircare-beard-snood-light-blue/b470?cm_sp=Peerius-_-productRecsTop-_-image" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beard net</a> if required</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h4><strong>Handy Hints&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Don&rsquo;t forget, presentation is key &ndash; this&nbsp;includes your uniform</li>
<li>Make sure your knives are sharp and you have all the tools you need for the job</li>
<li>Always be sure to take water or another drink to your shift and stay hydrated</li>
</ul>
<h2><br>What do I have to do to become a Chef de Partie?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>You&rsquo;ve survived life as a commis chef; now it&rsquo;s time to take on more responsibility but it can be tough. With probably the most exciting-sounding name in the kitchen, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Chef+de+Partie">chef de partie</a>, often abbreviated to CDP, is the next step on the ladder. A demi chef de partie is like a stepping-stone role between&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/how-to-become-a-commis-chef">commis chef&nbsp;</a>and a fully-fledged CDP.</p>
<p>To get this promotion, you&rsquo;ll need to show maturity, proficiency in the sections you&rsquo;ve learnt, willingness to listen to the senior and head chefs, and an ability to take on board both their instructions and criticisms.</p>
<p>The hours will be similar to working as a commis chef, for a full-time role upwards of 40 hours a week. You may also find similar-level roles under the titles of line chef, section chef or station chef.</p>
<p>You should know when it&rsquo;s time to think about taking the next step up the ladder. Consider whether the place you&rsquo;re currently working as a commis chef is somewhere you&rsquo;d like to stay and take on the role of CDP, or whether it&rsquo;s time to move kitchens.</p>
<p>If you do want to stay in the same workplace, find a quiet moment to talk to the head chef or ask to arrange a meeting. Explain that you&rsquo;d like to be considered for promotion, or if you don&rsquo;t have the confidence to ask straight away, ask them for advice on what you need to work on and improve in order to be considered for the role of chef de partie.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re hoping to move kitchens, it&rsquo;s time to start looking around for vacancies. It might best to keep this to yourself at first, or only tell a colleague who you really trust. You don&rsquo;t want to risk creating any friction in a kitchen that you might be leaving. This is because you could end up staying for longer than expected or even change your mind and want to stay.</p>
<p>Once you have been formally offered another job, then it is probably the time to tell your current employer and make sure you give them at least a week or two&rsquo;s notice. Always check your contract if you have one and leave on good terms. The chef world is a small world and you don&rsquo;t want to leave any bridges burned that you may cross again in the future.</p>
<p>As with previous chef roles you&rsquo;ve applied for you will most likely be asked to go into the workplace for a short interview or &lsquo;chat&rsquo; and a trial. Make sure you create a great first impression, and think about the questions you want to ask about the role. Whether it&rsquo;s about what hours you&rsquo;ll work, the pay, what support and training you&rsquo;ll have, don&rsquo;t be shy to enquire. Asking questions shows you&rsquo;ve thought about the role and are genuinely interested in working in a particular workplace.</p>
<p>So what does it take to become a chef de partie? Michael Turnbull, who is currently a demi CDP at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.malmaison.com/locations/newcastle">Malmaison Newcastle</a>, says: &ldquo;To be a great chef de partie, I need to be organised and ready for every service. I need to constantly think about tidying up as I go along and try to better myself every day. I also need to be dedicated to the role as some days can involve fairly long hours.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Turnbull advises that you should always listen to your head chef and respect their experience and knowledge. &ldquo;My current head chef, Sandeep, worked his way from kitchen porter to head chef, in a country where people do not speak his first language, and progressed to the role with skill, commitment and determination. Sandeep respects us in the kitchen environment and we respect him in return,&rdquo; he adds.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Working together with other members of the team to fulfill our roles and keep the kitchen running smoothly is like an orchestra. We each need to play our individual roles to ensure that the food comes together according to specifications in a timely manner during a busy service.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He also points out that one benefit of working for a large hospitality group is that there are more chances for internal promotion; as well as opportunities to move locations within its UK hotels or around the world.</p>
<p>You may be working as a CDP for many years, and so there is the chance for movement and progression within this role. It usually involves being in command of different sections within the kitchen, each one with lots to learn from.</p>
<p>In larger kitchens especially, you&rsquo;ll also have a junior chef working with you on your section. It&rsquo;s one of your responsibilities to help the junior chef, show them how to produce menu items and make sure they&rsquo;re working to the required standard. But you&rsquo;ll have to earn their respect, so make sure you&rsquo;re always leading by example. For example, you can&rsquo;t expect someone to work in a clean manner if you are leaving food prep and dirty equipment all over the bench.</p>
<p>Keep pushing yourself as you gain more experience in the kitchen under your belt. With better knife skills, experience of plating up, the ability to teach junior members of the team and effectively master your section, it may be time to start thinking about moving up to the role of sous chef, or junior sous chef.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Chef+de+Partie">chef de partie jobs.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch.</a></p>

How to become a Chef de Partie?

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<h2>Tailored CV templates</h2>
<h3>Hospitality and Catering&nbsp;</h3>
<table>
<tbody>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/kitchen-porter">Kitchen Porter and Kitchen Assistant</a></div>
&nbsp;</td>
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<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/chef-de-partie">Commis Chef and Chef de Partie&nbsp;</a></div>
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<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/head-chef">Sous Chef and Head Chef&nbsp;</a></div>
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<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/barista">Barista, Bartender, Waiter and Waitress&nbsp;</a></div>
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<h3>Transport and Logistics&nbsp;</h3>
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<tbody>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/hgv-driver">LGV Driver</a></div>
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<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/delivery-driver">Delivery Driver&nbsp;</a></div>
</td>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/forklift-truck-driver">Forklift Truck Driver</a></div>
</td>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/warehouse-operative">Warehouse Operative&nbsp;</a></div>
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Admin and Secretarial&nbsp;</h3>
<table>
<tbody>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/administrator">Administrator</a></div>
&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/customer-service-advisor">Customer Service Advisor</a></div>
&nbsp;</td>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/sales-advisor">Sales Advisor&nbsp;</a></div>
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<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/receptionist">Receptionist&nbsp;</a></div>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/recruitment-consultant">Recruitment Consultant&nbsp;</a></div>
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<h3>Manufacturing and Production&nbsp;</h3>
<table>
<tbody>
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<td>
<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/warehouse-operative">Assembly Operative and Production Operative&nbsp;</a></div>
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<div><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/career-advice/cv-templates/cleaner">Cleaner</a></div>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
</article>

CV Templates

<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>Overview</h2>
<table>
<tbody>
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<td><strong>Job Role</strong></td>
<td>LGV Cat C+E Driver (aka: Class 1 HGV Driver)</td>
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<td><strong>Responsibilities</strong></td>
<td>Transporting goods from supplier to customer or client.&nbsp;</td>
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<td><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></td>
<td>
<p>Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card<br>Category C+E driving license&nbsp;</p>
</td>
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</tbody>
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</article>
<article class="rich-text-article">
<h2>What do I have to do to become a LGV Cat C+E Driver?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A large good vehicle (LGV) commonly referred to as a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver, is someone who is qualified to operate a truck or lorry over 3,500kg. The main responsibility of LGV drivers is transporting goods from a supplier to the customer or client.</p>
<p>Haulage and logistics is a large industry employing people all over the UK; this means there are plenty of opportunities out there for qualified&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Class+1+">Cat C+E LGV drivers</a>. There are also companies based all over the country, so you won&rsquo;t have to move to find work if you don&rsquo;t wish to.</p>
<p>Lorry driving is a great career to jump into if you have just left education, have been made redundant in another industry, or are looking to try something new. Although there are strict steps you must take to become a certified Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver, if you&rsquo;re determined it can be done in less than a month. There are also licence application fees you have to pay, which are all outlined below.</p>
<p>To guide you through the licence process, you will find plenty of specialist companies who provide the full service. For a fee, they will do all the administration, book your tests and help get your first job as a Cat C+E LGV driver. But before you hand over your money, think about the pros of paying someone to do the legwork to get your licence, versus saving that money and doing it yourself. If you decide to do it yourself, all of the information you need is on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) website</a>, and explained below.</p>
<p>There are strict rules on the number of hours you can work as a professional goods driver, which you can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/drivers-hours-goods-vehicles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">read in detail here</a>. It is up to your employer to make sure you don&rsquo;t work over time, but in general you can&rsquo;t work more than nine hours in a day, 56 hours in a week, or 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks. One benefit of working as a class 1 driver is that the long haul journeys can mean you work for three or four days, followed by a few days off. All drivers of LGVs must record their hours on a time sheet, or a tachograph &ndash; a device fitted to your vehicle that automatically tracks your speed and distance travelled.</p>
<p>There are different levels of LGV drivers, but all require you to have a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card. This allows you to drive category C vehicles, which are any LGVs with a trailer having a maximum authorised mass of up to 750 kilograms. The&nbsp;Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver is allowed to drive category C and E vehicles. This additional category allows a larger trailer, and so involves a different test, but it also means you can earn a higher salary or hourly rate, and are more employable.</p>
<p>Before setting off on the drive, your daily duties as a Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver will often involve checking the route you&rsquo;re about to take, and loading or supervising the loading of goods onto your vehicle. There will also be paperwork to do before and after drop off, and you may have to talk to clients or customers to discuss delivery times. You will also be responsible for checking your vehicle for safety and ensuring maintenance issues are resolved.</p>
<h3>Steps to obtain a Cat C+E licence</h3>
<h4><strong>Step 1: Obtain a car driving licence&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<p>There are a few hoops to jump through before you can get on the road as a LGV driver, but don&rsquo;t let this hold you back. You also must be over the age of 18. If you don&rsquo;t already have a car driving licence, to get one you need to apply for a provisional car driving licence from the government&rsquo;s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). This will enable you to take driving lessons from an instructor or qualified driver who holds a full driving licence. To get your full car driving licence, you need to pass a computer-based theory test, and a practical test at registered centre. All of the information you need about driving a car in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/learn-to-drive-a-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.</p>
<h4><strong>Step 2: Apply for a provisional lorry licence&nbsp;</strong></h4>
<p>Once you have your full car driving licence, then first stage of becoming a LGV driver is to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/applying-for-a-bus-or-lorry-provisional-entitlement" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply for a provisional lorry licence</a>. Similarly to the car driving licence, this is done through the DVLA website. This time, you require one of the forms, which is called D4, to be filled in by a registered doctor. This is because drivers of lorries must be in reasonably good health. Be aware that you will have to either pay a private company to do the medical assessment and complete the form, or for your local GP&rsquo;s time required to complete the form for you. The areas that will be assessed include your eyesight, any neurological and heart conditions, mental health, alcohol and drug use, diabetes and sleep disorders.</p>
<p>You must send this medical assessment (D4) to the DVLA along with form D2, which you have completed yourself, along with your photocard driving licence. The DVLA will then assess whether you are fit to drive a large vehicle, and then process your application and provisional lorry licence. Make sure you&rsquo;ve filled in all of the correct details; if there is missing or incorrect information this will delay getting your provisional licence. You should receive it within three weeks of the DVLA receiving your application.</p>
<h4><strong>Step 3: Take the Driver Certificate of Professional&nbsp;Competence (CPC) test</strong></h4>
<p>The next step is a four-part theory test called the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). You need the full driver CPC if lorry driving is the main part of your profession. You can read about all of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/driver-cpc-part-1-theory-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the four driver CPC tests here</a>, and how to book each of them through the DVLA website.</p>
<p>When going for the tests, make sure you take all of the required documents with you; otherwise, you can&rsquo;t take the tests, and will have to pay again to rebook. Just like the car driving tests, it&rsquo;s essential to prepare for your driver CPC tests. There are lots of learning tools available, which explain each theory test, and allow you to do practice questions. Start by reading all of the information the DVLA provides. The tests follow a similar format to the driving licence theory test but are longer and more extensive. Once you have booked and passed the theory tests, you will need to then find a good training provider to prepare you for the practical tests.</p>
<p>Jake Preston, a transport administrator at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.prestons-potto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prestons of Potto</a>&nbsp;in North Yorkshire, passed his driver CPC aged 19, and shares his advice: &ldquo;Try to approach the process with a positive attitude and an open mind; this will make it more enjoyable, while maximising your development as a professional operator. A lot of drivers feel it&rsquo;s a box-ticking exercise, where examiners are trying to tell experienced drivers how their job should be done. In reality, the programme ensures that best working practices are applied throughout the industry, which can only be beneficial to everybody.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve passed all parts of the driver CPC you&rsquo;ll be sent a card, which you must carry at all times when driving a lorry professionally. In order to keep your driver CPC, you must take&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/driver-cpc-training" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">35 hours of driver CPC training</a>&nbsp;every five years to stay qualified. All of the information you need about becoming a qualified lorry driver in the UK can be found on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this section of the government&rsquo;s website</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Applying for jobs</h3>
<p>After successfully passing your full lorry driving licence, it&rsquo;s time to start looking for jobs. You will find Cat C+E LGV&nbsp;driver vacancies on specialist jobs boards, and online on the careers page of companies&rsquo; websites. Make sure you read the full job description when writing your application and arrive a little early to your interview.</p>
<p>The types of people who make excellent Cat C+E LGV&nbsp;drivers are calm and confident on the road. You&rsquo;ll need to have patience when driving, and be good at solving problems when they arise. This could include unforeseen traffic, restrictions on heavy loads, frustrating roads users or even a petrol station being unexpectedly closed. Be prepared for long hours and early starts. You will also need to be happy to work by yourself for much of the shift, and not needing someone regularly checking in on you. Being focused and having good concentration skills are also vital, to avoid road accidents and ensure you don&rsquo;t get lost.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re hard-working and career focused, there are lots of opportunities for progression in this industry. Jake Preston notes that although being a HGV driver can become a way of life for some, if you want more regular hours then you could look at progressing to an office-based job in the industry. &ldquo;This is why some drivers retrain to become a traffic manager, who manages customer orders, and a fleet of vehicles and drivers, so that collections and deliveries can be fulfilled. Skills gained through driving are highly beneficial to this type of role, including strong understanding of the geography, knowledge of driving laws, and realistic expectation of driver performance,&rdquo; he explains.</p>
<p>Working as a Cat C+E LGV (class 1 HGV) driver is a great job if you enjoy getting the job done and aren&rsquo;t interested in office politics. The shift work can offer you flexible working patterns, meaning you can line up more than two days off in a row without using your annual leave. It can also offer the opportunity to drive abroad, or move around the country.</p>
<p>Browse the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/jobs?distance=5&amp;keywords=Class+1+">Cat C+E LGV driver jobs</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluearrow.co.uk/our-branches">Contact your local branch</a></p>
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