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Blue Arrow to fully fund driver training
Page 8
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A RECRUITMENT agency is planning a driver-training pilot scheme in which it would fund licence upgrades for its drivers entirely from its own profits.
Blue Arrow Driving will trial the scheme in which it will fund licence Icquisition for all of its drivers 'rom 7.5-tonne vehicles upwards ncluding specialist training such ADR.
Drivers will qualify for the free training through their length of service. Head of driving Andy Greig says it would take a driver nine months' full-time work, or 12 months with breaks, to earn the 'training credits' required to take their Cat C (Class 2) licence.
Greig believes Blue Arrow is the first agency to pick up the full cost of training:"We need to find a way to make it work financially. However, we think that in higher standards and better staff retention it will become cost-negative for us. The challenge is ensuring these new skills can then be put to use in the market."
This is -the only shadow" affecting the scheme, and clients and employees have otherwise reacted very favourably towards the concept:" Many firms are still reluctant to use newly qualified drivers and we need a process to put them in employment. It will be frustrating if we can't find a solution to this."
But Greig adds that at least one national customer prefers newly qualified drivers which it can mould.
Blue Arrow Driving has 11 sites around the UK and will pilot the scheme in two of them -Manchester and Bell's Hill near Glasgow.
The company plans to open two or three new branches annually for the next three years.