"New online hub for HGV driver updates A new section on GOV.UK website has been launched which brings together all the latest information on how the government is helping to reduce the HGV driver shortage. You can also sign up for email alerts to stay up to date with the latest HGV driver announcements from all government departments and agencies, including DVSA. This includes a Department for Education blog post about the Skills Bootcamps and training to become an HGV driver. "
NoobieDriver:
To be fair, the abolition of the DCPC would probably tempt back the odd “Part time” driver that would help lighten the load!
Why anyone would pay £250+ every 5 years to work a couple of days a week is beyond me.
I agree; except I do it!
I do just a few days a year because I enjoy driving trucks. I dislike paying the fee but have plenty of time available to do the course.
A barrister I used to supply driving work to has his licence for the same reason. The fee for him is insignificant but the 35 hours are untenable.
For those who have the DCPC at least the rewards now offset the cost much quicker.
Two weekend only days (as per contract), assuming 2 X 10 hour shifts, would have earned an available driver £700 in Doncaster recently.
The problem is those who cannot afford to pay the cost of the course up front will remain unavailable, however the wage is as high as it is precisely because there are fewer weekend only drivers available.
A short term ‘amnesty’, on the requirement to hold a DCPC to drive professionally, would see much of the above issues alleviated.
It would certainly be a quicker, less bureaucratic, less expensive, safer option than letting 5000 non UK residents in to do the jobs.
NoobieDriver:
To be fair, the abolition of the DCPC would probably tempt back the odd “Part time” driver that would help lighten the load!
Why anyone would pay £250+ every 5 years to work a couple of days a week is beyond me.
Want to be treated as professionals, whines about paying £250 every 5 years. You should think yourself lucky, multiply that by a factor of ten for actual professions. Want to be a solicitor? The cost of entry is £17,000 to do the LPC on top of the £27k you’ve paid for a degree and then when you want to sit the exam that’s £3000 every time you sit it. Then there’s annual Practice Certificate which is £278 and for that you don’t get 35hrs of training, you don’t even get 35 minutes. You get nothing but without that PC you can’t practice. And you’re paying that if you want to practice 5 minutes or 5 days a week.
£250-£350 spread over 5 years? That’s chump change.
NoobieDriver:
To be fair, the abolition of the DCPC would probably tempt back the odd “Part time” driver that would help lighten the load!
Wearing my TM hat for a minute, if one of my drivers CBA to sit in a classroom for seven hours, one day a year, when we’re paying for it, all to keep him legally compliant so he can continue to earn a (fairly decent) wage, bearing in mind that I have personally vetted the training provider and their range of courses, and I know they’re far better than any other TP in the area, then why would we want him as part of our workforce? Even our part-time driver who normally operates the plant equipment has an up to date DCPC for when he needs to do cover on the artics and roros
£250-£350 spread over 5 years? That’s chump change. I work out that mine costs me over £1000, with lost work. Might be chump change , but it is a totally pointless exercise. The way that the government are so reluctant to kick this EU policy brought in by the llst Labour government makes me wonder. What’s in it for who?
I must admit that if I was still paying for my DCPC and facing the double whammy of losing a days wages every time to boot I’d definitely go down the cash in a brown envelope route.
If you want to know where the money is in the DCPC I would suggest starting with the JAUPT.
They do not provide their “statement of income & retained earnings” when filing their accounts.
It seems like the ‘not-for-profit’ does not like the public to know how they dispose of their income to make sure there is no ‘profit’.
They are very reluctant to put names on their website, instead using this phrase in one place:
“To ensure the company maintains its awareness for continuous improvement, the quality system is regularly reviewed by “Top Management” to ensure it remains appropriate and suitable to our business. The Quality System is subject to both internal and external annual audits. This policy was last reviewed by the Managing Director May 2021.”
It also uses a premium call rate number to contact them - in other words please don’t bother calling.
There is nothing obviously ‘dodgy’ about the company or people but it is seems to want to be a little too private considering the public role it has.
