DVSA adds 'e-learning' content to driver CPC courses

Driver CPC delegates can now take up to two hours of a seven-hour course as ‘e-learning’ content under changes brought in this week.

So-called e-learning is not the same as distance learning or remote learning, which have been used as part of the emergency response to Covid-19 during the pandemic.

Instead, the change by the DVSA means it will allow up to two hours of learning to be completed by the driver ahead of a training course and so does not have to be done at the training centre.

The classroom part of the DCPC course must cover the remaining time.

Additional changes to the training regime include amendments to minimum qualifications and training standards, as well as exemptions for drivers in specific industries.

The move to make the requirement more flexible with the inclusion of e-learning was hailed by the FTA as “the biggest change in delivery of Driver CPC since its inception in 2008”.

James Firth, FTA head of road freight regulation, said: “We will see how the training industry takes the option up, but we are pleased to see DVSA is looking for new ways of allowing delivery within the constraints of the directive.”

He added: “We are pleased that the ability to identify what training a professional commercial vehicle driver needs remains with industry - be that employer or driver themselves - rather than with politicians.”