Fleets should take action now to avoid driver downtime from a huge backlog of licensing work set to hit the industry in the next 12 months.
2024 is predicted to be a record year for Driver CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) tests, due to both the cyclical nature of the qualification and a testing backlog from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Analysis of DVSA figures on completed CPC hours by RED Corporate Driver Training indicates a “tidal wave” of drivers needing to complete their allocation, with around 16 million hours of training in total needed – more than ever before over a two-year period.
Government rules mean drivers of lorries (3.5 tonnes and above), buses and coaches must undertake 35 hours of training every five years to maintain their CPC. Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to £1,000 and being unlicensed to drive.
RED research indicates the forthcoming backlog is the result of a shortfall in training over the Covid period; according to DVSA figures, only 2.4 million hours were logged in 2020/21 and 3.7 million in 2021/22. In the first quarter of 2022, figures suggest a full year will end up at four million hours.
That compares to some 26 million + hours logged in training over the previous five years – and assuming the same number of drivers need to do the CPC, it means that in the next two years more than 16 million hours will need to be logged – more than double in each year what is likely to be completed in 2022/23.
Only twice in the last decade has the industry manged to complete eight million or more hours in a year.
“The problem with having to do such a huge amount of training in such a short space of time is that it takes drivers off the road for days at time – or even for weeks if they don’t complete it before the deadline, at a time when most businesses are desperate to get their employees behind the wheel,” warned RED Corporate Driver Training CEO Seb Goldin.
“This puts huge pressure on fleets and also the training industry. Rightly, the DVSA stipulates that CPC training should be diverse and of high quality, and there are no short cuts to doing Driver CPC properly.”
RED advises companies to act now by spreading out the 35 hours of training across 2023 to ensure their drivers remain compliant, and avoid unnecessary waits to receive their tests the following year.
“Driver CPC is essential to keep the wheel of British businesses moving, and historically there has always been a big rise in training numbers in the fifth year of a cycle,” outlined Goldin. “But unless firms start planning now, those wheels may grind to a halt as a result of a predicted surge in test requirements throughout the next couple of years.”
