The CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) deadline is fast approaching for UK companies operating heavy and light goods vehicles, as their drivers have to complete their mandatory training and renew their CPC licences (drivers are obliged to do 35 hours of periodic training every 5 years). If the deadline is missed, employees will be unable to continue driving HGVs and LGVs legally from September 9th onward.
According to an independent study carried out recently, after the deadline there will be a massive decrease of CPC compliant drivers, as over half (53%) of the operators and fleet professionals interviewed were worried about a possible reduction in fully CPC-trained drivers next month as a third of drivers still had the full 35 hours of mandatory training remaining.
According to Nick Caesari, CEO of Fleet Source, the independent organisation which carried out the study, “The majority of transport managers who responded to our survey—some 71%—said their contracted drivers had already completed their 35 hours, which is good news, but the deadline is fast looming for those drivers who still need to complete their training. The bigger picture is that there is a clear concern in the industry that there will be a shortfall in CPC-compliant drivers after 9 September.”
It is the drivers’ responsibility to complete the mandatory training but employers play a key role in checking that their drivers are compliant and, therefore, do share some of the responsibility.
The result is that the capacity of courses and trainers has decreased in recent months and consequently some suppliers have also increased their price as the deadline approaches.
Nick Caesari added that “It is vital that employers, drivers and training providers work together to ensure we minimise the risk of a shortfall in CPC-compliant drivers and create a contract-ready workforce to meet the growing client demand across our industry.”
