1. Home: Explore careers
  2. Warehouse worker

Warehouse worker

Alternative titles for this job include Warehouse operative, warehouse picker

Warehouse workers take delivery of goods and pack orders for dispatch.

Average salary (a year)

£16,000 Starter

to

£24,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

35 to 40 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends / bank holidays on shifts

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a warehouse worker

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly

Apprenticeship

Depending on where you work, you could do a:

  • supply chain warehouse operative intermediate apprenticeship
  • express delivery sortation hub operative intermediate apprenticeship

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

More Information

Direct Application

You can go directly into this job. It's usual to start through temping or seasonal work.

You may not need qualifications, but some employers ask for GCSEs at grade 4 (C) in English and maths, or equivalent qualifications. You may also need basic IT skills.

More Information

Career tips

It may help when looking for work if you've done forklift training.

Further information

You can find out more about careers and training in warehousing from The Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • the ability to work well with others
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • the ability to organise your time and workload
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

  • have forklift truck driver training for some jobs

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

In this job, you'll:

  • take delivery of goods and raw materials
  • check for damaged or missing items
  • move stock around the warehouse using lifting equipment
  • make sure stock is stored correctly and safely
  • pack and wrap goods
  • load goods ready for dispatch
  • stocktake
  • clean the warehouse

Working environment

You could work in a warehouse.

Your working environment may be at height, physically demanding and outdoors some of the time.

You may need to wear protective clothing.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a team leader, shift supervisor or warehouse manager.

You could also move into quality control, freight planning or distribution.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a warehouse worker right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

Introduction to Working in a Warehouse

  • Provider: GLOUCESTERSHIRE COLLEGE
  • Start date: 18 July 2022
  • Location: Gloucester

Principles of Warehouse and Storag: Level 2 NCFE Award - Distance Learning

  • Provider: NORTH EAST SURREY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY (NESCOT)
  • Start date: 01 August 2022
  • Location: Not known
Find courses near you

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

Search further careers

Related careers

Skills assessment

Take an assessment to learn more about your skills and the careers that might suit you.

Speak to an adviser

Call 0800 100 900 to speak to an adviser.

We're open:

  • 8am - 8pm Monday - Friday
  • 10am - 5pm Saturday and bank holidays

We're closed Sunday, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Webchat

You can also use webchat.

Webchat is unavailable if you are using Internet Explorer 11 as your browser. To use webchat, try opening this page on a different web browser.

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for your feedback. Click here if you'd like to let us know how we can improve the service.