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Ed Pargeter
Page 38
Page 39
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Director, EP Training Leatherhead, Surrey As a training provider, EP Training is already looking at the implications of the planned Directive. Ed Pargeter has worked out that new recruits will need at least five weeks' training to give them a chance of getting through the CPC test.
"I understand they're trying to make it into a distance learning course that can be learned mostly at home," he says. "But the syllabus is complicated. About 80% of it is the same as the CPC for managers and it could be a mixture of multiple-choice questions and case studies, where the student mght be given a certain route and asked to work out drivers hours, for example."
Ironically, Pargeter fears the initiative will "over-educate" drivers.
"In a driver you're looking for someone who can drive trucks and handle them safely. So to have a theory test that lasts four hours and a practical test of only two hours does not make sense to ma" Even the two hours practical could be confined to a simulator, he points out.
But the big factor is cost. -Its going to be E2,000 to £3,000 minimum to get a qualification," Pargeter warns. "Today they can get a licence for about £1000. I cannot see the industry paying for that— I don't think hauliers have got the money."