Skills for Logistics (SfL) launched its Driver CPC Standard of Excellence last week at an event held at the John Lewis Northampton distribution centre.
Operators and training providers took part in presentations evaluating how the first five-year wave of Driver CPC had been conducted, highlighting best practice from across the industry and discussing lessons that could be learned to improve standards in the future.
Ross Moloney, CEO at SfL, told delegates that adopting Driver CPC was “an enormous cultural shift” for the sector. “We went from zero CPD on a mandatory basis to 35 hours.”
He added that 26 million hours of logged training is a milestone the industry should celebrate. “Our sector has possibly one of the most upskilled occupations in the UK right now.”
However, he said that research highlighted concerns about the quality of training and a missed opportunity to drive up standards, which is why SfL developed its Standard of Excellence scheme.
The standard was devised following a six-month consultation with logistics employers and identifies five criteria: trainer quality; course preparation and delivery; learning resources and environment; pre- and post-training delivery; and commitment to excellence.
Moloney said: “This is not mandatory, but we know there are many training providers who would like to be able to compete on quality, not just price, and that there are employers and individuals who want more visibility about high quality training.”
He added that the scheme will give employers and drivers the ability to recognise excellent training, as well as allow training centres to benchmark themselves against the best in the sector. “It won’t be a solution for everyone, but we hope the providers who want to exhibit their excellence will consider the benefits of the standard.”
SfL expects a significant number of the 1,400 approved Driver CPC training providers to engage with the scheme, and said it had already received numerous requests for centres to be evaluated, with Balfour Beatty, Fleetmaster and Data Academy among the first to receive their accreditation at last week’s event.
