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The government has given the greenlight to a supply chain operatives apprenticeship just days after it rejected the HGV driver apprenticeship.

Both schemes were put forward by an industry-led working group of employers supported by the FTA, RHA and CILT under the government’s Trailblazer apprenticeship initiative.

However the HGV Driver apprenticeship was rejected by a government review panel on the grounds that the training involved did not need to take 12 months, the necessary duration for apprenticeship approval.

RHA gave a muted response to the news this week. It is currently seeking an urgent meeting with Skills minister Nick Boles in the hope of getting him to reconsider an HGV trailblazer apprenticeship scheme.

Speaking to Motortransport.co.uk, RHA policy director Jack Semple said: “A supply chain operative apprenticeship is welcome but unfortunately the government has kept its hand firmly in its pocket when it comes to an HGV driving apprenticeship.”

He said both apprenticeships were important to the industry’s development, adding: “As the industry reviews how it perceives and projects itself, upskilling in the traffic office through the supply chain operatives apprenticeship is important. But right now we have a worrying driver shortage and an over-reliance on drivers from abroad.

"A funded HGV driver apprenticeship would have been an excellent mechanism for rebalancing that.”

Semple said RHA is determined to get the HGV Driver Apprenticeship scheme back on the government’s Trailblazer agenda.

"We have already met with government officials in the Business department and we are currently urgently seeking a meeting with Nick Boles. We have not given up on the idea of a driver apprenticeship.  We are urgently trying to find a positive way forward.”

Job Centre Plus

Semple pointed to RHA’s joint work experience initiative, which it launched with Jobcentre Plus in June this year, as evidence of industry demand for driver training.

He said “dozens” of hauliers across the country had signed up for the scheme, since its launch, which followed successful trials of the scheme in the South of England. The trial saw 20 job seekers spend two weeks with RHA members in the Eastleigh, Portsmouth and Southampton areas, where they were given first-hand experience of the haulage industry. Transervice is one such haulier.

Semple said: ”This is an extremely important and ground breaking scheme which has never been done before. Both RHA and JobCentre Plus are absolutely committed to the project.

“This is not only good for the industry but good for society and government as well, offering the unemployed the opportunity to have well-paid, essential, long term employment, which is exactly what the Department of Employment tells us is needed.”

Colin Snape, HR manager at Nagel-Langdons, who worked on both apprenticeships as part of the industry led apprenticeship working group, said the supply chain operative apprenticeship was not as essential as the LGV driving apprenticeship, given that traffic operations can be taught to trainees under the business administration apprenticeship.

He said one solution which the working group may look at is combining an HGV Driver apprenticeship with a warehousing apprenticeship, which would then comply with the 12 month training requirement.

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