Insite hails success of HGV skills bootcamps
Logistics training specialist Insite has highlighted the success of the Department for Education (DfE) skills bootcamps in HGV driving, revealing that it trained more than 4,500 new HGV drivers through the scheme.
The initiative was launched in 2021, but centralised funding for the bootcamps has now ended.
Of those drivers trained by Insite, more than 85 per cent immediately entered the workforce, the company says, providing a valuable boost to UK PLC and helping to tackle a chronic shortage of HGV drivers.
“Insite was the largest provider of HGV skills bootcamps for businesses; over 1,100 different UK organisations trained drivers through Insite-run skills bootcamps,” said the firm.
“Alongside a significant number of third-party logistics firms, Insite’s skills bootcamps supported local authorities; police and fire and rescue services; waste management companies; and a host of construction firms.”
More than half of Insite’s skills bootcamp trainees accessed training through a co-funded route, which helped businesses upskill existing staff. For employers with fewer than 250 employees, Skills Bootcamps were 90 per cent funded by the DfE, with employers paying the remaining 10 per cent of the course cost. For larger employers, places were 70 per cent funded.
With 2025 marking the final year of centralised skills bootcamp funding, James Clifford, CEO of Insite, described the initiative as “an overwhelming success”.
“They supported thousands of businesses and individuals. However, the landscape of logistics training is changing,” he said.
“Since 2021, when DfE funding for skills bootcamps started, we have seen a dramatic shift in the way that businesses manage the logistical headache of large-scale training. We have found growing demand from businesses for more support.
“Increasingly complex supply chains are making it difficult for businesses to coordinate training across multiple locations, leading to periods of inactivity that reduce productivity and cost money. The economy is simply too challenging for businesses to absorb this.
“Without subsidised training, firms are having to find other ways to improve their training processes.”
In June, Insite launched an expanded training service offering to respond to this need. It continues to offer an end-to-end licence acquisition service. It now also provides fully managed warehouse training, including forklift driver training, introduction to warehousing, and first aid courses; and construction training, including CPCS & NPORS accredited plant training to ensure safe and effective site operations.
The company reports that many former skills bootcamp clients – including Biffa, Vinci Construction, Clear Channel and DX Group – continue to access broader training support from Insite, reflecting the growing demand for a fully managed solution.
