Dear Chrisy,

I would recommend that you learn as much as you can about effectively instructing forklift operators, as well as the organizational influences that make effectiveness possible. A lot of FREE resources are available. On the internet, there are also paid resources that fit the size of any pocket book.

This website has a lot of good information in the archive, or you can do a search on just about any key word (See the search box in the upper right of this page).

Although it is still in the pilot stage you can get a bunch of free downloadable (evidence-based) information at www DOT LIFTOR DOT com. If you sign-up for the FREE newsletter, you will receive a comprehensive report on what an effective pre-shift forklift examination might look like. A properly constructed Pre-shift exam procedure is one good place to start any skills training of a forklift operator.

To turn this into a paid gig, you must establish credibility with managers who would pay you for applying your instructor skills. If you already know how to operate at least one make and model, and are interested, it would be helpful to get a job as a "working supervisor" for some warehouse, distribution center or materials handling operation. From there, you would have readily available opportunities to develop yourself in line with your instructor interests.

Finally, there is such a large collection of information available that you could make a life-long career out of the various aspects of forklift instructing. The key to exploiting this abundance is to learn how to discriminate between the useful gems of practical information and the useless pablum that can exist right next to it.

Good Luck...and best wishes,

Joe Monaco
National LIFTOR Licensing Systems