Eddie Stobart has opened a second training academy after the facility it opened to the public last year was met with high demand.

Stobart opened its formerly in-house academy in Appleton to all last September to meet demand from customers and "safeguard the flexibility and agility of our industry", according to CEO Alex Laffey - recently revealed as one of our Power Players.

The new academy in Crick, Northamptonshire, will have a dedicated staff of instructors providing training in driving, Driver CPC, FORS and CLOCS, among other qualifications.

Stobart's driver training manager Chris Grice said 2018 was "set to be another year of profound change for our industry; we strongly believe training should therefore remain a top priority".

"It is our ambition to help drive up the number of people entering our sector by improving access to training resources. We hope the opening of our Midlands academy will not only help to improve overall industry standards, but will also enable drivers to more effectively navigate changes to the way we operate as a sector, and develop their talents further,” he added.

Stobart said demand at its Appleton facility had been good, and that it saw driver training course registrations jump 200% after a Black Friday promotion.

  • MT recently met with Eddie Stobart CEO Alex Laffey - read the interview in the 22 January edition of Motor Transport.