Driver training and assessment

Driver training is important for many reasons and takes many forms. The first and most basic is licence acquisition, probably the most numerous kind of course available. Driver training can also cover:

• fuel economy
• health and safety
• customer service and interpersonal skills
• NVQs in specific parts of logistics
• Materials handling eg Loler and Puwer or ADR
• Compliance issues – for instance drivers’ hours or tachographs

Most driver training is undertaken for reasons of compliance, fuel economy or safety. However an equally important reason for training is to boost productivity and performance.

Where can I find an accredited trainer?

There are numerous private training companies. A list of Young Driver Training Providers is available at SfL for England, Scotland and Wales. For Driver CPC training providers see the Joint Approvals Unit list. See also:

• The Road Haulage Association national training centre
• Freight Transport Association
• Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents
• The Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving scheme (SAFED)
• Logistics Academies which are being set up regionally

How do I assess drivers’ training requirements?

There are a number of ways for undertaking driver assessment. The most obvious is looking at fuel consumption, wear and tear on clutches and brakes and accident rates. Trainers can be brought in to assess drivers and a human observer will always be able to provide context and comment where statistics and computerised equipment cannot. However, Telematics or Electronic Braking Systems which gather data on braking events, speed and other indications of driver performance can also be useful.

How do I measure the benefit of training?

That depends on what you want to achieve. First you must establish a baseline. For instance if you do not know what current fuel expenditure is per truck you cannot assess improvement. Baselines can be taken for compliance issues – on nil defect driver reporting for example – fuel consumption, and customer satisfaction through surveys and other communication. Performance in these issues must then be monitored on an ongoing basis.

Industry research on training

Skills for logistics has identified six main issues which it says will cripple the industry if not rectified. These include:

• A lack of craft skill in junior managers and a lack of generic skills among drivers which they would need to become managers
• Basic skills  – literacy and numeracy are often deficient
• Poor industry image featuring a lack of professionalism and development
• Unrepresentative workforce. Still predominantly white, male and ageing, the industry desperately needs women and new workers from other ethnic backgrounds to reap all the skills it needs
• A lack of comprehensive external training provision: much of the training available is aimed at licence acquisition and compliance. Productivity and performance are secondary
• A lack of understanding: Many firms still have an ad hoc, compliance-driven approach to training and do not understand the business case for continuous professional development across their workforce

The Driver CPC

The EU Training Directive requires all drivers to undergo continuous professional development, totalling 35 hours in every five-year period, starting September 2009. However the Driver CPC will demand 2.5 million days of driver training between 2009 and 2014 and currently there are too few accredited trainers to meet this need. It has also become more expensive for training companies to have their courses accredited  which will in turn push course prices up.

Funding for training

There is little funding available for licence acquisition except through the Young Drivers’ Scheme and for individuals in specific regions and circumstances such as redundancy. However there is money available for Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving, although this fund is renewed at government discretion and is quickly spent. Other governmental bodies such as the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly, or Learning Direct can all provide financial assistance.

The European Union has money available for staff training for areas of specific economic need such as Cornwall and Wales. The Learning and Skills Council’s Train to Gain scheme offers free advice for employers and will identify subsidies or funding available. In 2010 however the LSC will be abolished and replaced by the Skills Funding Council which will oversee the £4bn of public money available for training. Funding and training advice can also be found at Businesslink.