Home Study CPC

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OWNER AND FLEET OPERATORS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi Guys,

This is my first post on Trucknetuk and although i`ve been trawling through posts and threads for 18 motnhs or so, this is still a bit daunting.

Anyway, I have been in the transport industry since i left school really and am now a transport supervisor at a company that provides hygiene products and what not to all manners of industry. We have a CPC holder that visits each site regularly and undertakes an audit etc etc.

Now I have always wanted to gain my Freight CPC and until now couldn`t get the funds together to do so. I have since found that a selection of companies are offering Home Study courses at the fraction of the cost compared with regular classroom courses.

Does anybody have anythoughts or comments about this? Or has anybody enrolled on something like this?

Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

2

from what i have heard from training schools, and also witnessed with friends that have done the home study CPC course, there is a high failure rate over the class room based course.

yes, the class room based courses are more expensive, but if you take into account eh repeat fees for the exams, it is more worth while

3

I have got to agree with shuttlespanker’s previous post. I have a very good friend who originally took the home study course. He has taken the exam 3 times and cannot get past module 1. I have just sat the national Sept 2010 exam having spent it learning in a classroom. I found the course quite intense and full on and you could argue I guess for both sides of the coin. Some will love the intensity of a week and a bits classroom study and others will choose the more relaxed home study course.

Hope this helps,
Paul

4

I think it depends how quickly you need the thing, if you are just doing it for your own gratification, then buying David Lowe’s book and self teaching is ideal. I passed both of mine like this many years ago. However if a company say you need a CPC International then the classroom courses are more or less guaranteed, if you listen and read the question.

Everyone learns in a different way, it depends on the person I reckon

Anyway, I have been in the transport industry since i left school really and am now a transport supervisor at a company that provides hygiene products and what not to all manners of industry. We have a CPC holder that visits each site regularly and undertakes an audit etc etc.

Does this company just carry its own goods, ie, own account? If so the need for a qualified transport manager as such is not necessary, so if you are thinking they may employ you or pay more for having it, check before spending your own hard earned cash…

Apparently there may be changes on the horizon to both International and own account licensing or so I seem to remember.

5

Thanks for the responses so far!

The idea of gaining my CPC is literally for my own benefit, no-one elses. It’s something of which I am i’m no rush to get through and something I take a great interest in! I can completely understand going the “intense” way but as I’m funding it myself and for the above reasons I think I’ll have a shot at the home study.

Thanks for going easy on a noob :slight_smile:

6

Personally I would buy the David Lowe book and see how you get on with that first. I borrowed a copy of that book and read it cover to cover and that was enough for me to pass all 3 modules at the first attempt.

Paul

7

I used a home study pack and did a 2 day refresher course to help !

The important thing is to make sure you actually read it before the last week, I didn’t quite get round to it so ended up having to retake module 4 :blush: :blush: :blush:

8

Hi all

Can you take the national & international together or do you have to pass the national 1st then go back and take the international :question: thanks in advance

9

dafman28:
Hi all

Can you take the national & international together or do you have to pass the national 1st then go back and take the international :question: thanks in advance

You can do them both together :wink: The International is just another module that you will be doing while the rest of the candidates are on their way home! :laughing:

As for the home ‘study v classroom’ debate, if you are strict enough with yourself to do the necessary work whilst in the comfort of your own home, then you should be okay.

I bought a home study course many years ago but always found things getting in the way of my study plans (you know, a bit of overtime, day out on the motorbike, a weekend lost to drinking/hangover & suffering, etc etc). Fast forward to Jun 2010 and I did both exams following 8 days of classroom based study and passed them both.

10

As for the home ‘study v classroom’ debate, if you are strict enough with yourself to do the necessary work whilst in the comfort of your own home, then you should be okay.

I bought a home study course many years ago but always found things getting in the way of my study plans (you know, a bit of overtime, day out on the motorbike, a weekend lost to drinking/hangover & suffering, etc etc). Fast forward to Jun 2010 and I did both exams following 8 days of classroom based study and passed them both.

I think this would be the biggest stumbling block but we`ll have to see how it goes.

For the price I havent really got much to lose. I suppose if I did end up going along the "classroom" route id be a bit more clued up as opposed to diving straight into it?

We`ll have to see.

Thanks for all of your responses :smiley:

11

I’m doing the home study route and have just got a set of the EOS notes — I think dieseldave recommended them elsewhere on this site.

They certainly suit my style of learning, but proof will be if I pass next month’s exam. I decided the best way to approach this would be to see how big a task it would be so I downloaded a Module 1 and 2 test paper off the OCR site and without any study sat the tests so I was answering the questions from what knowledge I already had.

On module 1 I scored 62% and 53% on module 2 which I though wasn’t a bad baseline to start from.

As background I hold a class C licence and spent 30 years in IT in some very senior roles so the business and accounting bits I should know.

So my theory is (and watch me crash and burn ) that starting from this baseline and being used to taking big thick books and absorbing them I should be able to crack it in the next 30 days.

If I had scored only 20-30% then I think I would have signed up for a course.

12

gazzaman58:
I’m doing the home study route and have just got a set of the EOS notes — I think dieseldave recommended them elsewhere on this site.

Hi gazzaman58,

I did (and still do) recommend the EOS notes, because (IMHO) they are the industry standard for operator CPC.
Having said that and in all fairness, the Friendberry notes are pretty comprehensive too.
Whichever way you go though, please ensure that you have the most up-to-date notes applicable for the exams that you will take.

I only mention this because in my experience as an ex-CPC classroom tutor, some of the home-study folks (and the providers) seem to think that the notes they buy will be valid for however long they take to get ready to sit the exams. This isn’t true.

gazzaman58:
They certainly suit my style of learning, but proof will be if I pass next month’s exam. I decided the best way to approach this would be to see how big a task it would be so I downloaded a Module 1 and 2 test paper off the OCR site and without any study sat the tests so I was answering the questions from what knowledge I already had.

On module 1 I scored 62% and 53% on module 2 which I though wasn’t a bad baseline to start from.

From those scores, I’d say that you’re heading for a pass, provided that you get a handle on the way that OCR wants you to set out the answers for the module #4 (case-study) exam.
OCR is very picky about this, but there is plenty of info on the OCR website in the section entitled ‘chief examiner’s reports.’

gazzaman58:
As background I hold a class C licence and spent 30 years in IT in some very senior roles so the business and accounting bits I should know.

So my theory is (and watch me crash and burn ) that starting from this baseline and being used to taking big thick books and absorbing them I should be able to crack it in the next 30 days.

If I had scored only 20-30% then I think I would have signed up for a course.

The business and accounting bits are usually in the module #1 exam (covered by EOS notes modules 1-11) and to do with a balance sheet and a profit and loss account.

I’d like to wish you and everybody else taking courses and exams the very best of luck. :smiley:

13

Sorry guys, what are EOS notes? :blush:

Regards,

Mark.

14

brookie:
Sorry guys, what are EOS notes? :blush:

Regards,

Mark.

Hi Mark,

EOS is a provider of CPC study materials for students.

Course providers and students can buy the EOS student notes to use for studying for the CPC exams.
If a provider isn’t being a tight-arse, they can also buy PowerPoint presentations from EOS, but unfortunately, some providers prefer that the tutor reads a set of student notes aloud to a class rather like a newsreader. :frowning:
IMHO, that’s extremely boring for the students and one of the reasons that I no longer teach CPC.

You can access the EOS website here:

15

I did mine homestudy but topped it up with a days revision course before the exam. I felt this was something of a ‘middle ground’ between the two.

I passed the case study and one multi-choice but had to go back for another attempt at the other multi-choice.

16

hammer:
I did mine homestudy but topped it up with a days revision course before the exam. I felt this was something of a ‘middle ground’ between the two.

Hi hammer,
There are lots of folk who take that approach, and I’d say it works for a fair number of them.

hammer:
I passed the case study and one multi-choice but had to go back for another attempt at the other multi-choice.

That’s very unusual, but not completely unheard of.
The reason that it’s unusual is that the case study (unit #4) questions are drawn from all modules (EOS modules 1 - 30,) yet you failed on one of the unit #1 or 2 exams.

IIRC, the unit #1 exam questions are drawn from EOS modules 1 - 11, and the unit #2 exam questions are drawn from EOS modules 12 - 30.

17

Thanks for the encouraging words dieseldave.

The EOS notes come with a kind of use by date of 3 months from purchase so they recognise things change constantly and need updating.

I can see its one thing to have the knowledge its quite another thing to present it so the examiner can see what he wants to see to give you the mark.

My study plan is to get my knowledge level up so in my next mock exam I am comfortably over the pass mark in the multiple choice questions then focus on making sure I get the right style of answers for the case study.

Plan B is to see if I can buy a CPC certificate on EBay :slight_smile:

18

gazzaman58:
The EOS notes come with a kind of use by date of 3 months from purchase so they recognise things change constantly and need updating.

Hi gazzaman58,
That the problem with some of the homestudy providers… whether by accident or design (and I can’t say one way or the other,) sometimes the info is out-of-date, but EOS are very good and always seem to be on the ball when it comes to the currency of their materials.

gazzaman58:
I can see its one thing to have the knowledge its quite another thing to present it so the examiner can see what he wants to see to give you the mark.

I’m sure you’ve had a trawl around my other CPC comments, especially about reading and taking notice of the questions on the Unit #4 exam.

gazzaman58:
My study plan is to get my knowledge level up so in my next mock exam I am comfortably over the pass mark in the multiple choice questions then focus on making sure I get the right style of answers for the case study.

That sounds like a good plan mate. :smiley:
:bulb: Now I know that you’re using the EOS notes, you can check your progress by tackling the stage-tests at the end of each module. :wink:
:bulb: There are also some past papers on the OCR site.

When all else fails… :grimacing:

gazzaman58:
Plan B is to see if I can buy a CPC certificate on EBay :slight_smile:

19

I too used the EOS notes last year for an upgrade to International from National - they were brilliant. If you set some time aside, maybe a few days’ holiday or whatever to cram some studying in just before the exam then the EOS notes plus past papers practice will see you through I’m sure.

Good luck

20

I see the case study for Unit 4 is out

ocr.org.uk/download/prm/ocr_ … dec_10.pdf

Reckon I should make sure my calculator has fresh batteries