Driver CPC: training isn’t the problem, quality is

Changes to the Driver CPC are sensible and probably long overdue, though the changes being mooted by the Government may not be those that are needed.

In the main, the reason the DCPC is so loathed by many drivers is that the training hoops they are being asked to jump through have little or no value. DCPC has become a box-ticking exercise, with many courses repetitive and simply facing drivers with an echo chamber, but also offering courses which are badly organised, badly run and, very importantly, badly chosen by employers or drivers.

Training is extremely important to any worker in an industry whose rules and legislation change as frequently as they do in the bus and coach industry; especially in the coach industry, perhaps. Tour drivers, for example, should be regularly updated on the European border landscape, especially now we are outside of the EU.

But here is the real stumbling block. If we step outside of the Directive-driven DCPC regime, your tour drivers may not be welcomed over the border. It remains to be seen how the EU will treat any divergent change but the runes are not favourable.

The current DCPC requirement may be seen as excessive but, as we all know, times flies when you’re having fun. The core issue is one of quality, and of breadth and flexibility. Training must be educational; patronising employees by making them sit through hours of ‘Janet and John’ schooling is bound to provoke a cynical reaction, but that’s not the fault of regular training.