Warehouse Worker: Job Profile and Role

Above-average numerical and organisational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work well with others and on your own are part of your competencies? Moreover, have you always wanted to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment? If so, we might have the perfect job for you: the job of a warehouse worker.

Besides the mentioned skills, there are other qualifications you may need when you want to work in this job. These are some of the things we will look at in this blog. Here, we will also tell you which annual salaries you can expect, how many hours you will work per week, and who your future employers can be. You will also find out what a day in the life of a warehouse worker looks like before we give you three tips for thriving in this job.

Short Summary

• As a warehouse worker, you may be in charge of organising the warehouse you are working in. This can include allocating deliveries to their correct spots, sometimes by using a forklift or a conveyor belt.
• As a warehouse worker, you are either in charge of or assist with all the relevant paperwork, ranging from shipment and delivery labels to filing all documents related to the warehouse orders and goods.
• As a warehouse worker, you are responsible for maintaining a safe working environment for you and your colleagues. Besides allocating goods to their respective spots, this can also include cleaning the warehouse floors.

Job description

Picking, packing, stacking, stocking – these four words give a first impression of the daily tasks awaiting you when working in a warehouse. Of course, you are not only in charge of these things, there are way more responsibilities you will take on. Among these are maintaining a safe working environment by keeping the warehouse clean and everything allocated to the correct spot/shelf. Your daily tasks also extend to quality controls for every order arriving at and leaving your warehouse, and collaborating with your colleagues and superiors. Besides, you will also be responsible for keeping track of all warehouse-related paperwork.

Responsibilities

• Compliance
• Collaboration
• Quality Control
• Documentation
• Picking and Packing
• Loading and Unloading
• Inventory Management
• Using Lifting Equipment
• Equipment Maintenance
• Maintaining Safe Environment

Different types of Warehouse Workers

• Warehouse Maintenance Staff
• Warehouse Operatives
• Logistics Coordinators
• Inventory Controllers
• Data Entry Clerks

Salary

As a warehouse worker in the UK, your annual salary starts at ￡19,000 and can increase to ￡23,000. You can earn slightly more if you advance to the position of a senior warehouse worker which comes with an annual salary ranging from ￡20,000 to ￡25,000. Besides your work experience and your position, your employer and the location will affect what you will earn each year.

Working hours

The working hours you will spend in your warehouse will likely range from 35 to 40 hours a week. Being a warehouse worker is neither a classic 9 to 5 job nor an office job, meaning that you will work your required hours in shifts. These can be early morning, day, and evening shifts. Keep in mind that weekend work will also be a part of your working hours. Also, note that peak times can further increase your workload and, therefore, your working hours, with one of the busiest times being the run-up to Christmas.

Employers

Every business that sells goods and has its own warehouse needs a warehouse worker. Therefore, your employment options can be found in various sectors, such as supermarkets and retailers, pharmaceutical companies, and e-commerce businesses. You can also apply to a logistics and distribution company that handles the picking, packing, and delivery of its supplying businesses. These are but a few employment options when you start looking for your first warehouse worker job. 

Where to look for a Warehouse Worker Job

Even though we live in a digital age, you can still browse the job sections in big newspapers when starting your job hunt. Naturally, you can also start looking online, be it on various job platforms or the UK National Careers Service (which also has listings/openings for apprenticeships, just saying). If you start looking online, you often also have the option to upload your job application portfolio for direct application to online job posts.

Qualifications

You may need some GCSEs, including maths and English, to become a warehouse worker. This requirement mainly depends on your employer or if you want to do an apprenticeship. Here, GCSEs tend to be mandatory. We recommend that you check the pass grades needed when applying. If you have these qualifications, you can look into completing a supply chain warehouse operative intermediate apprenticeship or an express delivery sortation hub operative intermediate apprenticeship. 

Besides, you should have IT skills and software knowledge which you can also learn on the job. To name but a few software you will use: warehouse management systems (WMS), conveyor control software, radio-frequency identification (RFID) software, and automated guided vehicle (AGV) control software.

Skills

As with every competency, you always need to check the exact requirements detailed in the job posts. What goes for your qualifications also applies to your soft skills. Let’s take a closer look at three potential skills you should have when you want to work as a warehouse worker.

Literacy and Numeracy Skills

When working in a warehouse, you should have basic to strong literacy and numeracy skills. After all, you are also in charge of stock takes and the documentation related to all arriving and leaving orders. Having these skills may be reflected in the GCSEs you may need for an apprenticeship or a direct application. Or, to be more precise: these skills are the reason you need pass grades in English and maths.

Attention to Detail

Your job also requires strong attention to detail since one of your daily tasks is to allocate goods to their designated spots in the warehouse. Your attention to detail ensures that everything is where it is supposed to be. In consequence, this ensures smooth workflows and processes for both you and your colleagues. Lastly, it also contributes to a safe working environment.

Communication Skills

In your future job, you will work with a team of fellow warehouse workers. This implies that you should have strong communication skills. They enable you to be precise and to delegate and coordinate the day’s tasks effectively. Besides verbal communication skills, you should also have strong written communication skills since you may be responsible for email correspondence as well.

Career Path

If you choose to do an apprenticeship, this will be the first step on your career path. Here, you gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of your future job. Valuable work experience is what your first warehouse worker job is all about. This sets you up for more senior positions in the warehouse, such as a senior warehouse worker, a shift leader, or even a warehouse manager.

Educational Background

You are not required to have a specific educational background when you want to work as a warehouse worker – even though GCSEs may be expected depending on your future employer or as entry requirements for an apprenticeship. We recommend that you look into an appropriate apprenticeship since it can be both a good career booster and an advantage when you apply for a warehouse worker position. Viable options can be an express delivery sortation hub operative intermediate apprenticeship or a supply chain warehouse operative intermediate apprenticeship.

Entry Level

Your entry-level position in a warehouse is your first job as a warehouse worker. Here, you learn everything you need to know to perform well and to look into more senior roles in the foreseeable future. Ideally, you have a more senior colleague who functions as your mentor. This has the advantage of getting valuable tips no apprenticeship will be able to teach you.

Continuous Learning

What your continuous learning curve includes mainly depends on your career ambitions. Let’s say you are interested in becoming a warehouse manager. In this case, you should look into the appropriate training, such as college or even university courses focusing on business and management. These potential qualifications aside, you will benefit from getting your forklift licence and licences to operate other heavy warehouse machinery. 

To further your qualifications and career prospects, you can also look into software certifications, which are offered by the following institutions: the CILT (Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport), Oracle, and SAP (assuming these are the software that is being used in your warehouse). You can also look into APICS certifications and ISTQB certifications (International Software Testing Qualifications Board).

A Day in the Life of a Warehouse Worker

Let’s assume your working day starts with a cup of coffee or tea and a nourishing breakfast which sets you up for the day ahead. After you have arrived at the warehouse, you will get an overview of the jobs you need to tackle and complete. In this section, we will explore some of the typical jobs that shape your warehouse worker day.

Stock Take 

Doing a stock take is always important to ensure that everything is in sufficient supply – especially during peak times, such as the Christmas season. Knowing what is on hand and what needs to be reordered is vital for various work processes – and the customers’ satisfaction. Therefore, counting and recording all warehouse goods is one of your daily/weekly/regular tasks.

Quality Checks

You do quality checks on every item in your warehouse, starting with the orders arriving every day or every other day. If you notice flaws or damages, you need to compile them in a (digital) list and inform your shift supervisors. Quality controls are also mandatory for goods leaving the warehouse. Here, you need to check that both the products and the packaging are ship-shape when they are being loaded onto the delivery vehicle.

Fulfilling Shipments

This brings us to another task you will perform daily: fulfilling shipments. After you have ensured that an item is good to go, you proceed to prepare it for delivery. This includes printing out the correct labels, loading the delivery vehicle and documenting all the relevant shipment details.

Tips for Thriving as a Warehouse Worker

Whether you are highly ambitious or not: trying to thrive in your job will always be a grand idea. It can include doing further training or improving your soft skills. In this section, we will take a look at three tips for thriving as a warehouse worker:

• Safety training
• Time management
• Organisation

Safety Training

We have already mentioned that you are responsible for ensuring a safe working environment. This does not only extend to stocking and stacking orders appropriately, it also includes work safety training and first aid. If you want to thrive as a warehouse worker, you should look into this training. You should also do regular refresher courses to ensure that your safety knowledge does not get rusty. Work safety furthermore extends to wearing the appropriate work attire, such as protective gloves and proper work shoes.

Time Management

Excellent time management is vitally important during peak times when everything needs to be done extra quickly and efficiently. Therefore, you should always invest time in this competency. Also, you should strive to become more efficient every day when performing your various tasks. With the relevant know-how and experience, you will thrive in your job and have the chance to progress.

Organisation

Your organisational abilities should go hand-in-hand with your time management. These two competencies can get you to the next warehouse level, so to speak. Being an organisation whizz ensures several warehouse-related work processes, starting with an orderly overview of all the stocked items and finishing in the safe working environment which is paramount in your job.

Frequently Asked Questions