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Freight Transport Association (FTA) is hoping that operators will not wait until the last minute ano face either more expensive courses or a lack of availability. It is offering a five-year deal to encourage early take-up. "Our responsibility is to meet everyone's needs," says FTA training manager, Nick Allen, "Some firms want us to help them set up specialist courses and get them approved, so we go into partnership and carry out the main generic training on drivers' hours, digital tachographs and safer loading."
He adds that firms with 400 drivers have quite a workload to meet the demands of the directive. "There's no clear trend. Some go for the five-year option, others are putting it off. They should be aware that in years three, four and five, some training providers are likely to hike up their training costs because of the urgency of the situation."
The FTA's training fees are negotiable, based on class size and length of contract. Allen recognises that some firms are having difficulty in allocating training budgets because the severity of the recession makes survival the first priority.
He worries that some firms will be paying for courses that are effectively box-ticking exercises where drivers turn up and 'sleep' for seven hours "To avoid this, we are offering the Driver CPC-plus, where there is an exam at the end of the day. The driver benefits by getting a certificate and the employer has evidence of the knowledge gained."