HGVC expands Skills Bootcamps programme with fully funded courses

HGVC is also offering recruitment days with its regional training centres, for employers to undertake medical assessment, trial and initial interviews with candidates. This allows firms to undertake early stage vetting ahead of enrolling new recruits on the programme.

In January, HGVC was awarded £10m in funding from the DfE to train thousands of HGV driver candidates over the next two years.

To date, HGVC has concentrated on delivering partially funded courses of up to 16 weeks. For large organisations, with over 250 employees, the scheme offers employers a 70% contribution to HGV driver training through the DfE funding. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with under 250 employees, a 90% subsidy is available.

HGVC’s programme trains novice drivers gain their Category C (rigid lorry) licence. This can be accessed by businesses across all sectors, including transport and logistics, retail, waste & recycling, agriculture, construction & engineering, local government, utilities and more.

James Clifford, chief executive of HGVC, said: “Our new fully funded courses enable employers to recruit novice drivers and have their training 100% funded by the DfE. What’s more, our regional recruitment days allow firms to assess candidates before enrolling them on the scheme. It’s a major opportunity for employers and we have limited places available.”

 Added Kenneth Whitney, line manager/supervisor at UK infrastructure contractor Colas: “We needed to recruit qualified HGV drivers to deliver our transport infrastructure services across the UK. HGVC helped us to identify potential candidates via a regional training day in Nottingham. We were able to ensure we were recruiting the best people for the job, while securing fully funded places on the Skills Bootcamp. Our candidates are starting the job on day one as fully qualified HGV drivers – it’s a win win.”

To secure fully funded courses, employers must enrol candidates on the Skills Bootcamp programme before their employment contract commences. The training courses are available at 60 locations across the country. Employers can apply at www.hgvc.co.uk/bootcamp.

The Skills Bootcamps are part of the government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, helping everyone gain skills for life. The scheme is funded by the Department for Education, which completed a competitive tender process to appoint training providers. In total, the government has committed a further £257m to fund the range of Skills Bootcamps.