News

Skills for Logistics (SfL) has called for a more professional career structure, as well as a culture of continuous professional development, for transport managers. The organisation, responding to the Department for Transport's (DfT) consultation, EU road transport proposals to establish common rules, recommends that: 

• The transport manager certificate of professional competence (CPC) becomes just one step in a progressive series of qualifications, instead of being a single  exam;
• A new transport manager CPC be integrated with apprenticeships and foundation degree programmes and provide transferable qualifications for logistics employees across Europe;
• And the UK should not support the proposal that every transport manager undertake 140 hours of training prior to taking the transport manager CPC.

Jack Semple, RHA head of policy, agrees the 140-hour training proposal should be scrapped. He adds: "Individuals learn at different rates and in different ways. The key is the quality of the test. We are hopeful that this view will prevail." SfL also points out that training needs for individual transport managers will vary greatly. It therefore feels there should be exemptions for those with directly relevant qualifications.

Ed Pargeter, boss of driver training company EP Training, says: "At present the examination is the same for an owner driver, as for a transport manager that works for a multi-national road haulier.  I would like to see a basic CPC qualification for an owner driver, with additional qualifications for transport managers of larger companies." John Charlton, managing director of training firm Van Hee Transport, adds: "Logistics businesses will need to be more professionally qualified to meet increasing competition from Europe."