Can you earn £50,000 (or more) as a transport manager?
Yes, you can, however, some people on the internet will tell you that is it impossible to earn £50,000 or more as a transport manager, which is simply not the case, and it is completely untrue.
With a combined 50+ years in both commercial and industrial recruitment, the NTP team is well-positioned to discuss salaries confidently. We also know a lot about what it takes to get there.
Based on our experience in salaries, recruitment, training and transport management, we decided to post an advert on social media to encourage others to get qualified and reap the rewards by becoming transport managers.
Here is a picture of the advert we posted.
Not sinister, just a simple ad designed to encourage people to go for it, change their careers, upskill and change their life.
This advert caused an uproar because apparently, according to the people commenting on Facebook, you can’t earn £50,000 as a transport manager.
Well actually…
Anyone who tells you can’t earn £50,000 as a transport manager is wrong.
Have you ever seen a million pounds in cash? No…does that mean it doesn’t exist? Of course not; it just means you’ve never seen it, nothing more and nothing less.
So, when a random people on Facebook tell you that they’ve never met anyone who earns that much as a transport manager, remember, it’s only that they do not know anyone who earns that much, not that it doesn’t exist.
The truth is earning £50,000 is possible, and jobs are available throughout the UK in that salary range.
Let’s keep it real for a second and get some truthful results.
A quick Google search on 31st October 2022 revealed over 1149 transport manager jobs for over £50,000 and a further 205 at £45,000 across 4 major job boards including TotalJobs, CV Library, Reed and Indeed.
As we all know, most jobs come with OTE (on top earnings) and benefits such as private healthcare, dental, car allowance etc., boosting most of these positions way beyond the £50k mark!
Not bad, eh?
Is it still impossible to earn over £50,000 as a transport manager? Of course, it isn’t. There are plenty of jobs out there with great salaries, but to get that great salary you dream of, you must be a great transport manager!
Can anyone earn over £50,000?
In theory, yes but in reality, probably not.
Whilst anyone has the ability to earn £50k, not everyone will, and that’s down to many factors, including location, skill level, ability to do the job well, and sometimes simply being a good fit for a company.
According to the website Indeed, the average base salary in England (before any OTE) is £37,535. This varies by area, with Dover coming in at an average of £45,463 as a base salary alone!
And this average was based on Transport Managers.
Sometimes transport managers are known as logistics managers and fleet managers.
The average salary in England for logistics managers is £38,568, and £38,238 for fleet managers.
So even though the national averages are under £50k, they are still great salaries, and remember these are base salaries, and don’t include on-top earnings and benefits companies don’t often detail as standard.
One thing we can be certain of though is that companies love hard-working transport managers who offer a great service so making sure to fit these criteria is essential for your own success and increases the likelihood of you achieving a salary of £50k +.
How you can earn over £50,000 as a transport manager.
The first step is to get fully qualified with a reputable training provider
NTP is the UK’s leading provider of transport manager CPC study courses.
We have recently won a Learning Excellence Award for our transport manager CPC course after competing against The Ministry of Defence, Rolls Royce, NHS and more.
Our student support team help and guides students every step of the way, even after they’ve qualified, and our feedback and pass rates reflect our student’s success.
Another great provider for classroom-based training is Logistics UK, a reputable training provider and membership body in the UK.
Picking the right training provider is essential to your success, not only for getting qualified but also for developing the real knowledge and skills you will need to successfully manage a transport operation.
A great training provider will also be at your side for your onward training throughout your career so having a provider you can trust is probably the most important step you will take in starting your journey to becoming qualified.
Be Advanced – Level up
After getting qualified, the next step is to take your training to the next level to bridge the gap between knowledge and experience.
Let’s be frank here, all employers want experience, and the chances of you walking into a £50k without experience is pretty slim, but showing a potential employer, or client, that you can confidently step into a transport operation and work within the confines of the law, and in line with terms and conditions of an operator licence straight away is a sure-fire way to put you a step ahead of other candidates vying for the role.
The whole point of advancing is to bridge that experience gap that new transport managers lack, and get you closer to the £50k you want by having experienced transport managers’ skills and knowledge.
This applies regardless of whether you are going after an employed position or even as an external TM.
In fact, as an external TM levelling up and becoming an advanced transport manager will put you ahead of your competition.
It’s worth noting here that this type of training is not openly available on the market. In fact, NTP is the only company that has a specialised training course specifically designed for new transport managers to help them level up. You can find out more about our Advanced Transport Manager course here.
Refresh, Refresh, Refresh
Refreshing your knowledge every year is not simply a nice thing to do; it’s key to staying ahead of the game, and if you want to be paid a great salary, you MUST do refreshers every year.
Would you trust a transport manager that hadn’t updated their knowledge in the last 5 years? or would you pay for a person who hasn’t attended continuous professional development training in the past 5 years?
I know I wouldn’t. It would be asking for trouble.
A good training provider will be able to help you complete a refresher every year, and in turn, you’ll be able to work hard to keep your OCRS in the green.
Transport managers who are up-to-date with the latest legislation and best practise are more valuable to a transport operation than a transport manager who doesn’t bother to do continuous professional development every year.
Refreshing your knowledge can be done quickly and easily online. NTP offers online refresher training to all qualified transport managers and it can be completed quickly and easily online. Click Here to find out more.
Get started on your journey to earning £50k +
As we’ve mentioned in this article choosing the right training provider is essential, and it goes without saying that choosing the right course is a big part of that.
That’s why we want to let you take a good look at our transport manager CPC course and ensure it’s right for you .
Book a free, no-obligation demo by CLICKING HERE, and our team will show you around, answer all your questions and offer advice about the best route to getting qualified for you.
If you would like to find out more about our transport manager CPC course, please CLICK HERE to be taken to the course page, and if you have any questions, please contact our team by using the live chat facility on our website or by giving us a call on 01406 424500.
Average Salary Source: https://uk.indeed.com/career/transport-manager/salaries/England
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