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The Transport Certificate of Professional Competence is a qualification required by the EU which must be held by at least one key member of a transport operation. The examination follows a curriculum broadly set by the EU and is offered by the OCR examining board(Oxford, Cambridge and the Royal Society of Arts). There are other ways to meet the CPC requirement without the qualification.
For example, choose an alternative qualification or employ a transport manager who holds one. If you have been in operation since 1975 you enjoy ‘grandfather rights’. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) offers an alternative to the CPC which is also acceptable to the Department for Transport.
There are two levels of CPC qualification:
The subjects studied were originally laid out in EU Directive 98/76/EC. They include:
It is planned that Unit 1 will also be available as an on-screen test at a later date. Qualification depends upon passing two multiple choice units and one case study unit. Any module which is failed can be retaken separately. For those wishing to operate in Northern Ireland separate papers are provided for Unit 2. Exams are held four times a year.
The course stipulates 55 hours of study which can either be completed as a home study course or as eight days of training. The home study module is obviously cheaper. The Road Haulage Association for instance charges £135 for the national qualification pack and £99 for the international. By comparison the in-house courses are £549 (ex-VAT). Exam fees for both are £73.70.
Other courses useful for transport managers, which may be mandatory for specific sectors, or to comply with insurer’s demands, are:
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