What forklift university does

Forklift University (legal entity ForkLift U, LLC) is a Mesa, Arizona-headquartered, privately held occupational safety training provider founded in 2005. The company delivers OSHA 1910.178-compliant certification for powered industrial trucks and ANSI A92.22/A92.24-compliant MEWP operator training through three primary channels: a self-serve online course catalog with per-operator pricing of $79-$99 (covering nine equipment categories including general forklift, stand-up reach, order picker, telehandler, electric pallet jack, truck-mounted, MEWP/aerial, fall protection, and advanced flagger); a nationwide field trainer network delivering on-site training at customer facilities; and a Las Vegas-based exclusive hands-on driving facility for in-person instruction. Courses are valid for three years and issued in both English and Spanish, with custom-branded company licenses available for enterprise clients.

Name

forklift university

Legal name

ForkLift U, LLC

Website

https://forkliftuniversity.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The company description should be a focused, factual 30-40 word description capturing what the company does and who it serves, grounded in the input data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Occupational Safety Training

NAICS

Industrial Truck, Tractor, Trailer, and Stacker Machinery Manufacturing (333924), Apprenticeship Training (611513)

SIC

Industrial Trucks, Tractors, Trailors & Stackers (3537)

akta.pro primary industry

Forklifts & Industrial Trucks (IC & Electric) (IMAHABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Powertrain, Drivetrain & Transmission Specialist Training (EDAOAEAJ)

Keywords

• Forklift operator training
• OSHA safety certification
• Powered industrial truck training
• MEWP aerial lift training
• VR forklift simulation

Headquarters

HQ city

Mesa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Online Training Courses: One-time purchase courses for individual operators seeking forklift certification. Online classes are valid for three years and include digital license and hard plastic operator license.
2. VR Simulator Sales: Sale of Virtual Forklift VR simulators to companies, staffing agencies, schools, and training organizations.
3. VR Simulator Rental (Rent-n-GO): Short and long-term rental of VR forklift simulation equipment with rental periods from 7 to 60 days, including UPS shipping and setup training.
4. On-Site Operator Training: Trainers travel to customer facilities nationwide to perform required operator training. May include travel charges.
5. Train-the-Trainer Programs: In-depth training for company trainers including access to all videos, materials 24/7, MS Word training forms/manuals/tests that can be modified and branded for the organization.
6. Custom Company Licenses: Custom branded forklift licenses for operators with renewal tracking and document storage service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Forklift University delivers OSHA 1910.178-compliant powered industrial truck and MEWP operator certification training through nine online equipment-specific courses priced at $79–$99 per operator, supplemented by on-site nationwide trainer delivery, hands-on driver classes at a Las Vegas facility, Train-the-Trainer programs, and proprietary NEXUS and Virtual Forklift LIVE VR simulators. Certifications are valid for three years and accompanied by digital and hard plastic operator licenses.

Product overview

Forklift University offers a comprehensive suite of occupational safety and certification training services for powered industrial trucks (forklifts) and mobile elevating work platforms (aerial lifts). The core offering consists of online operator certification courses available in English and Spanish, covering nine equipment categories: General Forklift, Stand Up Reach, Order Picker/Turret Truck, Telehandler, Electric Pallet Jack, Truck Mounted, MEWP/Aerial, Fall Protection, and Advanced Flagger. The company has expanded into VR-based training technology through its partnership with Virtual Forklift and Wolter Inc., offering the NEXUS modular simulator and Virtual Forklift LIVE interactive system. Additional services include Train-the-Trainer programs, on-site training, hands-on driver courses at the Las Vegas facility, and the Rent-n-GO equipment rental program. All courses are OSHA-compliant with 3-year certification validity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Forklift Training Online OSHA-compliant operator training covering Class I, IV, V, and III powered industrial trucks (sit-down, stand-up counterbalance, electric pallet jacks, walkie riders, walkie stackers) for both propane and electric lifts. Valid 3-year certification with digital and hard plastic license.
• Stand Up Reach Training Single-lift type online training for Class II electric narrow aisle stand-up reach forklifts, covering reach function, stabilizer-specific hazards, stability, load handling, and narrow aisle maneuvering.
• Order Picker / Turret Truck Training Online training for Class II order pickers and turret trucks that elevate operators to pick products, including fall safety and rescue plans.
• Telehandler (Rough Terrain) Training Online training for Class IIV telehandlers, including telescopic boom, rough terrain, and boom lifts, designed for construction sites with unpaved terrain and covering load charts, lifting operations, and variable capacity indicators.
• Electric Pallet Jack Training Online Class III PIT training for electric pallet jacks, walkie riders, and walkie stackers used in warehouse, manufacturing, and distribution environments.
• Truck Mounted (Piggyback) Training Online training for Class VII truck-mounted forklifts used in construction delivery operations, covering loading and unloading from flatbed trailers and non-counterbalanced design hazards.
• MEWP (Aerial) Operator Training Online Mobile Elevating Work Platform operator training covering aerial booms, scissor lifts, personal lifts, bucket trucks, and forklift work platforms, aligned with ANSI A92.22 and A92.24 standards.
• Fall Protection Training Online fall protection training for personnel who use fall protection on the job, covering fall hazards, harness inspection, and rescue plans.
• Advanced Flagger Training Online OSHA 1926.201-compliant training for traffic control at roadside work sites, covering MUTCD rules, safety barriers, and signal functions.
• NEXUS VR Forklift Simulator Modular, student-centric, drill-based VR training system with over 30 modules (drills, attachments, flatbed trailer and standard truck loading, speed doors, cantilever racking, multiple load types), designed by trainers with 20+ years of experience each. Sold to companies, staffing agencies, schools, and training organizations.
• Virtual Forklift LIVE Interactive multi-user VR training system that replicates the everyday forklift certification and evaluation class, allowing instructors and multiple students to be placed in the same virtual environment for classroom training and driving evaluation without physical location limits.
• Virtual Forklift RENT-n-GO Program Short- or long-term rental of VR forklift simulators via the Fold-n-Go mobile platform, with rental periods of 7, 15, 30, 45, or 60 days, including UPS shipping, setup training via Skype, multiple class options, and use of Forklift University or customer materials.
• Train-the-Trainer Program In-depth training program for company trainers covering Powered Industrial Trucks and MEWPs, including 24/7 access to all videos and materials, MS Word-based forms/manuals/tests that can be customized and branded for the organization, and OSHA-compliance training.
• On-Site Operator Training Nationwide on-site training delivered at customer facilities by experienced trainers, including operator evaluations on customer-owned equipment and hands-on driver training for new equipment or operators (travel charges may apply).
• Hands-On Driver Training (Las Vegas) In-person sit-down forklift training by appointment at the exclusive hands-on driving facility in Las Vegas, providing a full day of instruction and driving with limited class size for maximum seat time, designed for those with little to no prior forklift experience.
• Custom Company Licenses Custom-branded forklift operator licenses issued for enterprise customers, with renewal tracking and document storage to support OSHA audits.

Quantifiable outcome

• OSHA forklift violations are still in top 10 citations every year - training helps companies avoid fines
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• VirtualForklift.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to develop proprietary VR forklift simulators (NEXUS and Virtual Forklift LIVE). Forklift University collaborated with VR developers to create training tools designed by experienced forklift trainers, not gamers. The partnership produced two distinct VR systems: student-centric NEXUS and interactive Virtual Forklift LIVE for remote classroom training.
• Wolter Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the largest forklift dealers in the USA, Wolter Inc. participated in the design partnership for the Virtual Forklift Simulator. They had a similar experience with the same VR developers and joined Forklift University in building the brand-new VR simulator from scratch over 2+ years of development.
• College of Southern NevadaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship programs offered through the College of Southern Nevada combining educationally-based forklift training curriculum, forklift simulators, and hands-on driver training. Represents the company's premier academic partnership.
• Nevada Workforce Investment and Job ConnectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly partnership to build a training path for anyone who wanted to learn forklift operation. Helped launch the company in Las Vegas by connecting students with job opportunities.
• Urban League and Other Workforce GroupsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to help ex-felons re-enter the workforce and become productive community members through forklift operator training and job placement.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Vector Solutions: Vector Solutions (formerly TargetSolutions/SafePerson) is an established safety, compliance, and workforce LMS platform serving enterprise and municipal customers. It overlaps with Forklift University's Enterprise and Train-the-Trainer motions and has substantially more capital, sales coverage, and an installed base of compliance customers.
• SafetyCulture: SafetyCulture (iAuditor / Training) is a workplace operations and safety platform with a built-in course-authoring and training delivery product. It overlaps with Forklift University's LMS and Train-the-Trainer offerings at the enterprise safety-and-compliance buyer.
• National Safety Council: The National Safety Council is a nonprofit safety training and advocacy organization offering certifications across industrial, construction, and motor-vehicle topics. NSC's reach, brand authority, and partnerships with employers and government agencies make it a broad incumbent peer in operator-safety training.
• Toyota Material Handling: Toyota Material Handling is the largest US forklift OEM and offers operator training and certification programs bundled with equipment sales. It is a broad incumbent peer at the dealer-training buyer — the same segment in which Forklift University distributes its modular content to forklift dealers such as Wolter Inc.
• 360training: 360training.com is a large online regulatory-compliance training marketplace spanning OSHA, environmental, HR, and food safety. It competes with Forklift University for OSHA-driven forklift certification budgets, particularly among self-serve individual buyers and corporate training departments.
• ClickSafety: ClickSafety (an Ascend Learning company) is a long-established online OSHA training provider covering construction, general industry, and equipment operation. It is a broad incumbent in the same online OSHA-certification market where Forklift University competes for individual operators and corporate accounts.

Direct peers

• Interplay Learning: Interplay Learning provides VR-based training for skilled trades, explicitly including forklift operation, MEWP, and aerial lift certification. It is the closest direct peer to Forklift University's NEXUS and Virtual Forklift LIVE simulators — both compete for the same VR safety-training buyer with similar content and delivery models.
• CertifyMe.net: CertifyMe is an OSHA-aligned online forklift operator certification provider with comparable $75-$99 self-serve per-operator pricing. It directly competes with Forklift University's online courses for the same individual operator and small-employer buyer segment.

Emerging players

• Strivr: Strivr is an enterprise VR-training platform focused on operational and soft-skills scenarios (retail, healthcare, financial services). It is an emerging adjacent peer expanding into industrial safety — where Forklift University has a head start — and demonstrates the trajectory of VR adoption Forklift University is positioned to ride.

Regional players

• OSHA Training Institute / OSHA Education Centers: OSHA-authorized Training Institute Education Centers deliver Outreach and specialty training programs across the US. They are regional, federally-aligned training providers that compete for the same OSHA-compliance-driven training wallet, particularly for in-person and Train-the-Trainer formats.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forklift-university-inc.

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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