I just saw a post in the “FOR SALE OR SWAP” section of this forum where someone is selling a RHA home study pack at an auction starting with £0.01. I know a Transport Manager CPC class course can cost £1,500-£2,000. Has anyone ever got their Transport Manager’s CPC studying at home by himself? How hard was it?
How much can you save by having your own CPC instead of paying an external Transport Manager?
I’m planning to get my O’ licence and not sure if I should hire an external manager or get my own CPC?
Lots of people have passed the course doing home study. A CPC holder will be charging £250 a month to stand as your transport manager so having your own CPC is obviously a huge saving.
I agree there is a cost saving to having your own CPC but of course by employing a CPC holder it is one (or more) less things you need to do yourself and you can learn from an experienced CPC holder.
To answer your original question - plenty pass following home study. Give it a go. Exam fees aren’t too steep and it’s worth a go.
Thanks, but I think I would have to do one hell of a lot of swatting up to get up to scratch on present day rules and regulations. I went to Beverley night school to study as I was offered a lot more work from the Scarborough Tourist board but needed a 7 1/2 tonner, then the O license, already had a warehouse so operating base was no problem but the then wife upped and left along with all me money. Only time I used it was for a few months on my sons truck after his outside man jacked it in and he got his own.
raymundo:
I passed my managers CPC in '91 but lost the fancy certificate, but would it still be valid if I got a copy ?
It would be valid- they are valid for life- the problem would be that the examining board changed somewhere about that time, if you took your CPC under the old examining board then it is theoretically still valid, but it seems that the majority of records somehow got “lost” when the system migrated from the old to the new board.
If you do ever need to obtain a replacement certificate, then ask on the owner-drivers forum, this issue has been discussed before and I think at least one person did manage to obtain a certificate.
Can you remember the examining board you took the CPC under?
I have heard though that you can’t beat being in the class and having someone go through in detail the sections in costing jobs up etc. I guess it depends how well you can use your own initiative over having someone show you how to go on through each section. I’ve had the home study for 3 year and ain’t touched it yet, where as if I had paid for a 2 week course I’m guessing I would have been switched on from the start and got all the qualifications now.
SteveBarnsleytrucker:
I have heard though that you can’t beat being in the class and having someone go through in detail the sections in costing jobs up etc. I guess it depends how well you can use your own initiative over having someone show you how to go on through each section. I’ve had the home study for 3 year and ain’t touched it yet, where as if I had paid for a 2 week course I’m guessing I would have been switched on from the start and got all the qualifications now.
I know stuff has changed a lot since I done it in 84, but I tried the home study and failed miserably.
In my case, unless I am REALLY interested in something, I am reading it and not taking it in, (sorry but driver’s hours, regs and rules and all the rest of it, don’t exactly float my boat) so if o/p is the same it may not be a good idea.
So I took the course and passed it first time.
done my CPC in 81, never done any course, just bought a copy of transport managers handbook, spent every waking hour reading it over and over again. From what I can remember from the test it was just multiple choice questions. I had to guess at a few, presumably I got lucky as i passed first time. Doubt it counts for owt now since the changes in 10/11 ■■ I believe the new test is far bigger including written stuff ?
Only problems getting my O licience was getting somewhere to park/base. first one was refused as neighbours objected, then asked a local haulier and he said just put his yard down, after that no problems with O licience,
raymundo:
I passed my managers CPC in '91 but lost the fancy certificate, but would it still be valid if I got a copy ?
Yep - still valid. Contact OCR. I can’t be bothered to look it up but there’s info online about replacement certificates
I thought there was big changes a few years back and transport managers had to sit a new test ? so would my national CPC from 1981 still be valid ?
You had to re-register a few years back. Don’t know if there is a way around that. Some learned person on here will know.
Hours for external Manager- CPC holders updated.
LEVEL OF AUTHORITY
The suggested amounts of time are a starting point as to what traffic commissioners
might expect in terms of hours worked. They are intended as a prompt to
operators/applicants and the nominated CPC holder to discuss what time is actually
required to carry out the duties suggested at paragraph 49 above.
Motor Vehicles Proposed Hours (per week)
2 or less 2-4
3 to 5 4-8
6 to 10 8-12
11 to 14 12-20
15 to 29 20-30
30 to 50 30-Full Time
Above 50 Full Time and additional assistance
required
Additional hours may be required for trailers.
In respect of total hours traffic commissioners will be aware that the road transport
working time legislation limits the average working week to 48 hours over a given
reference period with no week within that reference period being over 60 hours. The
horizontal working time legislation (non-EU regulated mobile workers) requires that
‘adequate rest’ be undertaken each week.
O
Bluey Circles:
I thought there was big changes a few years back and transport managers had to sit a new test ?
Yes there were changes… big time!
Bluey Circles:
… so would my national CPC from 1981 still be valid ?
Yes, even in spite of the changes, a National CPC issued by a previous exam board is still recognised.
Harry Monk is correct that they’re valid for life.
My own National and International CPCs (from RSA) are still valid, even though both the exam board and the exam format have changed since I took mine in 1997.
Bluey Circles:
I thought there was big changes a few years back and transport managers had to sit a new test ?
I think you will find that this was to do with folk who were able to act as transport manager through “acquired privileges”, or “Grandfather’s Rights”, and who had never taken an exam under any examining board.
raymundo:
I passed my managers CPC in '91 but lost the fancy certificate, but would it still be valid if I got a copy ?
It would be valid- they are valid for life- the problem would be that the examining board changed somewhere about that time, if you took your CPC under the old examining board then it is theoretically still valid, but it seems that the majority of records somehow got “lost” when the system migrated from the old to the new board.
If you do ever need to obtain a replacement certificate, then ask on the owner-drivers forum, this issue has been discussed before and I think at least one person did manage to obtain a certificate.
Can you remember the examining board you took the CPC under?
RSA Harry, the original got stuffed into a 20ft container along with most of my furniture and was to be shipped to The Gambia as I was going to work out of there for couple of years, problem is the job fell through while we were on the way and we came back to the UK via Gran Canaria for 7 weeks (I know, terrible innit ?), so maybe still sitting on the dock in Banjul
It’s perfectly possible to pass without any classroom work, though having someone there to explain some of the material is an obvious advantage. Plus, you’re free to book your exam anywhere in the UK - most, if not all, CPC exam centres with accept outside bookings. However, be very cautious about buying out-of-date materials, OCR are quick to include changes to the rules into their exams.
One thing though, I would expect a classroom based course to be about £1000 or so - have a look around. If you opt for a classroom, I would certainly avoid the FTA. I was talking about the exams to someone a few months ago who attended one of their courses in Tunbridge Wells (and at those high prices you’ve quoted), where there were about thirty trainees and just one instructor. He wasn’t sure if anybody actually passed…
