Driver CPC still a major concern

Nearly half of FTA members surveyed claim that meeting their EU driver training requirements is a 'major concern', second only to rising fuel costs.

By September 2014 all lorry drivers in Europe must have completed 35 hours of training in compliance with Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) requirements.

The DCPC was introduced over two years ago, but industry concerns - including an annual driver employment churn in some sectors of up to 20 per cent - have made industry reluctant to invest in this compulsory training.

Isobel Harding, FTA's national training manager, said: “Tough trading conditions, high fuel costs and traditionally slim profit margins mean that budgets are stretched across the industry; it is therefore understandable that uptake has been sluggish.

"While awareness of these training obligations is high, there is a manifest reluctance from industry to invest in training drivers when there is a good chance that by the time the deadline comes around those same drivers might be working elsewhere.

“But this approach could leave many companies twisting in the wind as the deadline approaches and demand for good value and meaningful training outstrips supply.”

Although there has been a demonstrable improvement in the uptake of Driver CPC, particularly during 2011, there is a reducing window of opportunity which will require an accelerated uptake to meet the deadline in 2014.

Assuming that drivers should spread their training evenly by undertaking seven hours a year for five years, FTA has determined that the current shortfall stands at 46 per cent.

With 1,100 approved centres and at least 271,000 courses still to be delivered, the longer companies take to book their training the more unsustainable the pressure will be on training delivery. The likelihood is that this will translate into higher costs and harder to find seats.

Harding continued: “We know there is a considerable shortfall in the number of drivers on track to having completed their allotted training by the September 2014 deadline. In most cases this isn't about lack of awareness but more about businesses weighing up their options. By playing this game, though, they could be leaving themselves exposed to a lack of choice and more cost."