The Freight Transport Association (FTA) launches its new training prospectus last week with a warning to HGV operators to keep up-to-date with their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training.
It’s exactly a year since the first deadline for HGV Driver CPC. FTA Training Manager Keith Gray warns that leaving it to the last minute next time round could create a bottleneck at the 2019 deadline.
Drivers must complete 35 hours of periodic training every five years to stay qualified. The first deadline on 10 September 2014 saw a rush of drivers registering with just weeks to go.
Mr Gray said:
“It’s hard to tell if operators are being quicker on the uptake this time round, but we do know that a significant number of Driver Qualification Cards (DQCs) have been issued after the September 2014 deadline. This would suggest that not all of the training in 2015 has been those starting again.
“If we are slower to get started, it will mean that the peak experienced in 2014 will be even greater. Supply will rush into the market to satisfy the demand but this can have an adverse relationship with availability, price and quality of training provision.”
FTA’s prospectus is full of new products and services, many of which offer alternative ways to tackle existing training needs with greater flexibility and at a reduced cost. It includes FTA’s newly launched Driver CPC Consortium which provides members with FTA materials and admin support so they can use their own staff and facilities to deliver CPC training.
There is also the option for members to gain approval for their existing materials and develop bespoke courses that exactly match their organisation’s learning needs.
Another addition is the Van Excellence Driver Certificate of Competence, which has been developed in conjunction with Van Excellence-accredited operators, with the aim of addressing Work Related Road Risk and create a learning pathway for driver development.
