Thin on the ground
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Limitations in quantity, quality and geographical coverage of existing education facilities for road transport are revealed in replies from universities and county education officers
By S. BUCKLEY
ASSOC. INST, T,
A"present facilities adequate? This short but contentious question is the crux of the matter in any assessment of the education facilities for the road transport
industry at present available. If the yardstick of supply and demand is accepted then it could be claimed with some justification that existing courses meet current needs. Additional courses have had to close down in the past because of dwindling or total lack of support. Rebutting that line of thought is the pertinent comparison between the size of the transport industry and the small proportion of employees taking courses. With one
siXth of the national. income spent on transport it would be no altruistic exercise for a government to take positive action to surmount the mental barrier to more universal and comprehensive education facilities, seemingly erected by an acceptance of the current balance of supply and demand.
The setting up of art Industrial Training Board for the road transport industry could and should provide just such an opportunity. But first an assessment of existing facilities would need to be made. In anticipation of just such a survey The Commercial Motor asked 25 universities and 49 county education officers what education facilities they provided of interest to those employed in transport. The subsequent collation of replies, however, scarcely produces a survey in the positive meaning of the word. Rather does it confirmthe gaps and limitations of the existing education facilities when reviewed on a national basis so essential if the needs of..such a widespread industry are to he met.
Of the 25 universities, 24 do not offer courses on transport. There are some qualifications. however, Thus mention may be made of having a research interest in transport or including it in economics without being specifically concerned with a transport course. Examples in these categories include the universities of Birmingham, Bristol. Oxford and Sussex.
Traffic engineering—essential in making adequate provision for road transport— is specifically referred to by the universities of Newcastle and Strathclyde..NeWcastle has operated a full-time course of studies in these subjects since l954. Intake could have been trebled if space and financial resources were, available. Research on the benefits to industries from motorways is now being done. Strathclyde provides courses in highway and traffic engineering which include lectures on transportation.
Plans for transport courses in the future are announced by the two universities of Lancaster and Strathclyde. Within the undergraduate courses in economics, Lancaster intends to include both domestic and international transport subject to the availability of staff. A full subject devoted to transport could probably be arranged to meet demand. The policy at Strathclyde is to expand transportation teaching and research to the whole field of movement of people and goods. Attention is being given to the provision of courses for those employed in the transport industry, especially road haulage.
But here and now the University of London, through its extra-mural department alone, organizes a three-year parttime course leading to a certificate in transport studies. Students attend one evening per week, with a yearly examination. Normally all courses are held in Central London. The syllabus consists of "Transport Economics and " Transport and Economic Geography in Great Britain in the first two years. The third year is of the seminar type, studying contemporary problems with opportunities for individual research. Attendance for the full three years to take the certificate is not obligatory. Additionally, other courses run r by the department, could be supplemented on demand from industry or recommendation from an Industrial Training Board.
The replies received from 49 county education officers constitute a mixed bag. Some are at least specific as to the availability. or non-availability of, courses on transport. Other replies are so Perfunctory as to cast doubts as to whether all members of the education profession fully understand and recognize the function -and importance of road transport now firmly entrenched as the prime partner in inland transport. Where such doubts are justified there is obviously much spade .work to be done before establishment— let alone expansion — of education facilities for road transport can be contemplated.
For the record, 21 of the 49 authorities circularized as to their transport education facilities either stated they did not provide any or did not record transport courses in the literature they sent. As the next best thing a further 21 drew attention to their courses on mechanical engineering, motor vehicle mechanics and allied subjects.
Of the remaining seven authorities, only two specifically stated they provided courses for the Institute of Transport examinations, four were willing to provide courses on demand and one expected to provide courses in traffic engineering shortly.
Admittedly these replies from universities and county education officers do not constitute all the education facilities available on transport. Much spade work has been done by national and regional committees set up to promote just such facilities. But these replies do covergeographically—the whole country. The emerging pattern is one of limitation in both the number of courses and their location. excluding London. Moreover, .the quality of training where it is available must also be limited until universities recognize the vital role of transport in the planned growth of the nation's economy.
Many students admittedly prepare for transport examinations privately. Likewise, some of the larger operators sponsor or support educational and training schemes of their own. The several professional associations concerned with transport in their capacity as examining bodies lay down a syllabus of subjects for study and subsequent examination. But for the preparatory study the potential student is advised to attend the local commercial or technical college. Alternatively, tuition by correspondence is recommended.
Once again the question poses itself: "Are present facilities adequate? "
Initiative and diligence are rightly expected of students if subsequently they are to make a success in their transport careers. Nevertheless, the repeated comment from universities and colleges that courses would be provided if the demand arose does suggest a stalemate between supply and demand, albeit unintentional.
As already stated, the innovation of an Industrial Training Board for the road transport industry could provide the impetus needed to recognize and accept new horizons for education and training. But if improved education facilities are to become a reality a totally new approach will have to be adopted to allied problems peculiar to road transport. Thus, whether its diversity and inherent structure of small units, or its propensity for shift working, are reasons or excuses contributing to the current limitation of existing educational facilities may be a matter of opinion. Nevertheless, such problems and many others will have to be -resolved if road transport is to be able to offer to prospective employees attractive education and training facilities equal to those of competing industries.