Green light for driver apprenticeship scheme
Both the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and Road Haulage Association (RHA) have praised the decision by skills minister Nick Boles to approve the HGV Driver Trailblazer Apprenticeship, with FTA calling it a “common sense” move.
Mr Boles approved the driver standard on its third submission, having previously rejected industry proposals.
FTA skills development manager Sally Gilson said the decision to recognise HGV driver training was “vitally important for the freight and logistics sector” and would provide a “formal route” for young people to enter the industry.
“I would like to mention the hard work and time that Colin Snape of food transportation and distribution company Nagel Langdons has put into bringing together this apprenticeship,” she said.
“FTA has been stressing to government the importance of the HGV Driver Apprenticeship for a long time now, particularly in light of the apprenticeship levy [which taxes large businesses in order to fund apprenticeships] – so we are pleased that this standard has now finally been approved.
“However we do now require the minister to confirm that within the new Trailblazer Apprenticeship, the full cost of the licence acquisition will be funded so that businesses can make full use of the apprenticeship.”
Meanwhile, the RHA said that the industry’s hard work in securing the Trailblazer scheme had “paid off”.
“The approval of the LGV apprenticeship scheme is good news and a victory for our campaigning and lobbying work,” said chief executive Richard Burnett.
“However, it is essential that the apprenticeship includes the costs of licence acquisition. After all, licence acquisition lies at the very core of training new lorry drivers…
“The approval of an LGV apprenticeship Trailblazer scheme is certainly a step in the right direction, but we need bold strides if we are to tackle the driver shortage.”
Following later meetings at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Burnett described the inclusion of licence acquisition costs as part of a “challenging area” of discussion, alongside RHA’s demands for an emergency £150 million funding package for hauliers to help tackle the driver shortage.
“I emphasised to the minister that an apprenticeship which failed to cover the training costs associated with licence acquisition was about as much use as a truck without an engine,” he said.
“As we left today’s meeting we were encouraged by the minister’s agreement to an ongoing dialogue to try and find a mutually acceptable way forward. Our campaign goes on.”
