A COMPREHENSIVE review of the Driver CPC system to ease the current labour shortage and encourage more people to return behind the wheel has been promised by the UK Government.
The move comes after lobbying from the RHA and other industry bodies to extend the validity of any qualification expiring at the end of 2021.
The government also said it was identifying sites for short term improvements to lorry parking, however Westminster is also investing £500,000 to move an additional 29,000 lorry loads of freight to the railways.
The government added that the DVLA has cleared more than 40,000 HGV and vocational licence applications in just four weeks.
Drivers currently need to undergo five days of periodic training every five years to ensure they remain fully qualified to drive HGVs. Some drivers are left to pay for the training themselves and are not paid while attending their course, deterring those who have left the profession from returning.
The review will look at how the process can be updated to reduce the burden on drivers, both returning and new, and ensure it doesn’t act as a barrier to working in the sector.
kickstarting a new career
Transport Sectary Grant Shapps said: “This is the latest in a raft of 30 measures we’ve taken to support this vital sector and encourage drivers to return to the job or kickstart a new career in the industry.
“There is now no backlog of HGV licence applications and we’re seeing 1,000 more people than normal apply for a licence each week.”
The RHA, which welcomed news of the review, proposed a ‘one-for-one’ Driver CPC, meaning that a driver should be allowed to extend or renew a Driver CPC entitlement for one additional year if they undertake one Driver CPC training module.
