Skills
Occupational Therapy Aide Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in occupational therapy aides, and how to build and show them.
What skills do occupational therapy aides need?
Occupational Therapy Aides need technical skills such as equipment setup, patient transport, and infection control, plus people skills like reliability and friendliness. They also use tools such as Therapy equipment and Wheelchairs.
Technical (hard) skills
- Equipment setup
- Patient transport
- Infection control
- Scheduling
- Basic patient safety
- Supply management
People (soft) skills
- Reliability
- Friendliness
- Organization
- Teamwork
Tools, equipment and technology
- Therapy equipment
- Wheelchairs
- Cleaning supplies
- Scheduling software
- Phones
- Supply carts
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how occupational therapy aides put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Equipment setup” and “Patient transport.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “reliability,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as CPR near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our occupational therapy aide glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Occupational Therapy Aide training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.