Marlborough Boys’ College
Courier/Delivery Agent Kaikawe Karere/Utanga
Couriers/delivery agents sort, collect and deliver mail, packages, parcels and other goods to homes and businesses.
Couriers and delivery agents may do some or all of the following:
- sort and deliver mail, parcels and other goods
- collect items for delivery from businesses or private homes
- keep a record of deliveries made, including the delivery of registered mail
- receive payment on delivery of goods, or arrange for accounts to be settled
- hold mail for customers who are away and redirect mail for people who have changed address
- keep their delivery vehicle in good working order.
Physical Requirements
Couriers and delivery agents need to be physically fit and healthy as may can walk up to 15 kilometres or cycle up to 25km to deliver goods. They may also have to handle heavy parcels weighing up to 30 kilograms.
Useful Experience
Useful experience for couriers and delivery agents includes:
- work as a mail sorter or newspaper deliverer
- work in the transport and logistics industry, such as taxi driving, or any other driving work.
Personal Qualities
Couriers and delivery agents need to be:
- able to sort quickly and accurately
- good at reading maps, and able to memorise road names, street numbers and names
- skilled at driving
- honest and reliable
- friendly, helpful and polite
- able to provide excellent customer service
- able to work well in a team and independently
- organised and punctual.
Skills
Couriers and delivery agents need to have knowledge of:
- New Zealand geography, especially the area where they're based
- correct lifting techniques
- how to use tracking equipment such as scanners
- the Road Code, defensive driving techniques and transport regulations.
They may also need to know how to handle hazardous goods.
Couriers running a small delivery business need business skills.
Conditions
Couriers and delivery agents:
- usually work four to six days a week, and start between 5am and 8am to sort mail and packages before they start their deliveries. Delivery agents usually work 30 hours a week but couriers can work up to 84 hours a week in busy periods
- work outside in all weather conditions and may drive in heavy traffic
- travel locally, usually within a set area.
Subject Recommendations
There are no specific secondary education requirements to become a courier or delivery agent, but maths and English are useful.
Related Courses
Courier/Delivery Agents can earn around $48K-$130K per year.
Pay for couriers varies depending on where they are located, the number of packages they deliver, and their employer. They usually work on contract and are paid a commission based on the number of packages they deliver.
- Couriers usually start on $48,000 a year, before tax and running costs.
- They can earn up to $130,000 on a busy round, before tax and running costs.
About a third of what a courier earns goes on running costs, such as fuel and maintenance, of their vehicle as well as uniforms and equipment.
Delivery agents employed by New Zealand Post usually earn minimum wage or up to $25 an hour, depending on experience.
Sources: New Zealand Couriers, 2018; and New Zealand Post, 2018.
Experienced couriers and delivery agents may move into training, supervisory or management roles.
Years Of Training
<1 year of training required.To become a courier or delivery agent you need to have the correct type of licence for the vehicle you're driving.
Courier drivers may need their own vehicle (such as a van), a dangerous goods (D) endorsement, and a goods service licence.
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