What does the industry think?
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Chris Roe MD, Alert HGV Training, Leicester Chris Roe’s firm has been accredited by JAUPT to provide Driver CPC instruction. But while panel feedback suggests some training is being pitched at a basic level, Roe has opted for a more stringent approach. He is using the same techniques deployed for the Operator Compliance Risk Score system to bolster driving standards. The OCRS is the method used by VOSA to assess how compliant operators are, then grade them on a traffic-light system.
The training covers all the major issues a driver needs to know, says Roe. “It gives the training more status, which is important because if a driver has not done his daily vehicle inspection and then gets a prohibition, it goes back to the company that could be accused of not training him properly.
“With the OCRS system that cannot happen. It covers everything from tachograph rules and health and safety, to load distribution and load security. “I charge about £68.75 a day for that, including VAT. Some people are charging £90 plus VAT.” Roe is scathing about the JAUPT accreditation process, which involves completing a form, sending a payment of £1,500 and then going ahead with the training while awaiting a formal assessment – which could take months or years.
“It’s so easy to get accredited; I could set my sister up as a trainer and she could be doing it for three years before she gets inspected.
“The feedback I am getting from some drivers who have done the first part of training is that they don’t want to fork out their money to spend seven hours in a classroom trying to stay awake.”