Freight Transport Association FTA urges companies to meet mandatory driver training requirements

Meeting mandatory driver training requirements is a top concern among the Freight Transport Association's 14,000 members. As operators develop their Driver CPC solutions, the leading trade body urges companies to act in a timely manner so they do not allow a backlog of mandatory training requirements to build up towards the end of the first five year term.


Nic Allen, FTA's General Manager of Training, said:


"FTA members have identified Driver CPC training as their greatest concern, along with fuel duty and transport costs. In order to alleviate anxiety, companies should act now to ensure that they do not miss out on the highest quality courses available. Indeed if companies fail to plan now, there is a real risk that by 2014 demand for Driver CPC training will outstrip the capability for quality training providers to give the measured service that the industry should expect. To that end, many operators also find that working to a five year contract with FTA gives them peace of mind in the planning of their resources, budgets and driver availability."


Driver CPC courses can offer companies meaningful benefits that will not only keep their drivers and those they share the road with as safe as possible, but improve the way they operate overall.


Allen continued:


"Companies should embrace Driver CPC as a way to improve performance in terms of more fuel efficient driving, safer loading, drivers' hours compliance, better driver walk-around checks and improved customer service. Compulsory training should be about more than just a box ticking exercise; quality courses will bring with them many long-term commercial benefits, enabling real value for money to be achieved."


Credible, industry-led training tailored to the needs of the company in question is fundamental. However, a simple certificate of attendance is not enough to ensure that trainees have digested all they have learnt. Instead, a technical assessment at the end of each module, as found in FTA's Driver CPC Plus training, is highly recommended to ensure compliance and improve performance.


For more information contact Nic Allen at nallen@fta.co.uk