Training Board under fire
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• Pungent criticisms of the Road Transport Industry Training Board were made this week by the Sand and Ballast Hauliers and Allied Trades Alliance, whose headquarters are in London.
The Alliance alleges that it has failed to secure the expected co-operation and approval of the RTITB for ambitious training schemes on which it has spent much time and effort.
An SBHATA statement reveals that, shortly after the Training Board was first established, the Alliance drew up detailed plans for a comprehensive training centre designed to provide "transport college" facilities for the theoretical and practical instruction of transport staff from drivers to directors. A suitable site was located, and the plans included workshops which were to be run on a semi-commercial basis but were sufficiently advanced in design and equipment to form a useful research centre for commercial vehicle manufacturers.
The cost of establishing such a centre was estimated at El m. Negotiations on the project were started in November 1967 but, says the Alliance, 12 months later it was informed that the RTITB, while agreeing the need for such a plan, was not prepared to proceed any further with the scheme because alternative proposals for training centres were under active consideration and "should one of these more general schemes mature, the need of your members could be met to a very large extent".
The Alliance states that in January this year it was asked by the Board to consider the formation of a group training scheme. Much time and energy were devoted to laying plans, with the co-operation of members, and the whole scheme was costed and ready to be launched. But with the introduction of the new differential scale of levies and the new grant "ceiling" the scheme fell to the ground, since the small firm could not hope to sustain worthwhile training facilities on the very limited grants which would apply.
The Alliance calls for co-ordination of the efforts of the RTITB with the Ministries principally concerned, with the aim of providing severely practical and functional training to meet the transport industry's present shortcomings rather than adopting what is described by the Alliance as a remote, academic approach.
RTITB comment, given to CM on Wednesday, was that the Board had gone fully into the proposed scheme and found that it was "just not viable".