Category: Driver CPC

New National Driver CPC: What You Need to Know

A new type of National Driver CPC has now been introduced following the UK government consultation to reform the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) requirements, aiming to address the ongoing shortage of drivers and improve retention. The consultation explored ways to make the training requirements less of a barrier to the industry.

Under EU regulations, professional drivers of Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs) and Passenger Carrying Vehicles (PCVs) — essentially trucks, coaches, and buses — must complete 35 hours of periodic training every five years to maintain their Driver CPC qualification, with training delivered in 7-hour blocks.

So, what’s changed?

• Reduced the minimum course length to 3.5 hours. Drivers can now complete 10 x 3.5-hour courses instead of 5 x 7-hour courses. (You still need to complete 35 hours in total every 5 years).
• Allowance for up to 12 hours of training to be completed online through e-learning.
• More flexibility for returning drivers, enabling them to return to the industry without completing all 35 hours (effective from February 2025).

A potential option for drivers to pass a test instead of undergoing periodic training was also discussed but remains under consideration.

The New Reality: More Flexibility, but More Confusion?

Whilst these changes sound promising on the surface, their implementation introduces a complex set of challenges.

Two types of driver CPC. National CPC vs International

A significant complication stems from the fact that the UK can only amend Driver CPC rules for domestic drivers, not those driving internationally. Consequently, two separate qualifications are being introduced: the National Driver CPC and the International Driver CPC.

• International Drivers: Those who require an EU or international Driver CPC must continue to complete the standard 35 hours of training as before. However, from February 2025, returning drivers can complete a 1-day “returning to driving” course to get back on the road, with the remaining 4 days to be completed within a year.
• National Drivers: UK-only drivers will benefit from the reduced course lengths and the ability to take 12 hours of e-learning. However, they still need to complete 35 hours of training over five years, but they can now attend shorter sessions

The Key Problem: Different CPCs

Here’s where the confusion lies. The National and International Driver CPCs are now treated as separate qualifications. This means drivers can’t mix and match between the two different courses to meet their 35-hour requirement. A driver who completes some international courses cannot later combine them with the shorter National courses to make up their hours — a critical point that has not been made clear!

For example, if a driver has been keeping their qualification up to date with 7-hour courses, they can’t simply switch to 3.5-hour National courses to meet the 35-hour requirement. Drivers must commit to one or the other for the entire five-year period.

This is a potential ticking bomb for drivers who inadvertently mix the two types of training, with the issue not becoming apparent until their qualification expires!

The Bigger Picture

Whilst the Driver CPC reforms do offer more flexibility, the National CPC may not address the root cause of the previous challenges. The tendency for drivers to leave their training until the last minute could still undermine the benefits of shorter courses. According to DVSA

“Data shows that lots of drivers leave their training until the last 6 months. In 2019, there were, on average, 5 times more training hours done a month compared to the same time in the previous year.”

The reality is that many drivers wait until their qualification has reached expiration and then attend a full five-day course — meaning the flexibility of 3.5-hour sessions with National CPC will have little impact for this majority.

Additionally, the issue of poor-quality training remains unresolved. The reforms don’t raise the bar for course providers, leaving drivers more focused on box-ticking exercise as opposed to developing meaningful knowledge and skills.

You can check out the government guidance here

How can Traxion Training help navigate the new National CPC requirements?

We’re committed to providing high-quality CPC training, ensuring our drivers benefit from relevant course content which is only delivered by experienced Transport Managers and industry experts.

We’ve made the decision to stick to the international system that everyone is used to for now and all of our courses are accredited for International CPC. We don’t have any plans to introduce National CPC courses as they’re not relevant to the majority of our clients. Check out our range of top-rated courses here

Please note that this information is correct at the time of writing, DVSA may move the goalposts again in the near future.

Can you do CPC online? Yes, Driver CPC courses can now be attended remotely. The courses are accredited and the hours registered in exactly the same way as a classroom course.

Remote CPC Training

In response to the COVID restrictions, many types of training that would normally be delivered in the classroom were allowed to be delivered remotely on video sharing platforms like Zoom for the very first time. This included Driver CPC. It was intended to be a temporary measure at the time, but there’s now no indication that remote sessions will be discontinued.

This has helped to greatly reduce the cost of training for Drivers, as well as saving travel time and expenses. In general the response to the online courses has been positive, and many drivers prefer it over the classroom option.

Despite many Drivers being sceptical of attending online, and unsure of their own tech ability, a huge 94% of Drivers that attend our courses leave feedback that they actually preferred the online format!

The courses are still live sessions run at set times and Drivers do still need to be available for the full duration (unfortunately a ridiculous 7 hours, which is out of our control). A device with a camera and a stable internet connection is required and attendees will need to remain visible throughout the course and be expected to interact.

Remote courses aren’t just a cheap box tick either! For Drivers who genuinely want to get something from the course, the distraction free environment works really well. Remote course delivery is actually helping to raise the bar in the quality of course content, as it’s easier to keep attendees on track with the relevant subjects. Check out what previous Drivers have had to say by clicking the icon below;

The majority of Drivers that attend our courses have never attended remote training before and are initially very sceptical. The first thing that they find surprising is how easy it is to join the meeting and get logged on. It’s literally just like making a phone call and since 2021 we have NEVER had a single Driver that couldn’t complete a course due to lack of computer ability! So can YOU do cpc online? Absolutely.

Remote training in all industries is likely here to stay and those that don’t at least give it a try will likely find themselves wasting time and money on services that they perhaps mistakenly believe are better.

You can check out our schedule and book a course here

Will Driver CPC be scrapped? Proposed changes to Driver CPC in 2024!

In short, no, it won’t. The government have recently reviewed the Driver CPC requirements following the perceived Driver shortage in 2021. There were concerns that the CPC was a barrier to entry into the industry.

It has now been made clear that Driver CPC will not be scrapped. It will however be changing, and hopefully Drivers will be given more flexibility in the future.

The proposals to reform the DCPC revolve around the idea of creating a more flexible national CPC, as well as continuing with the current international version. Drivers who wish to drive in the EU will not see any changes, and will need to continue with the current 35 hour periodic training requirement. But if you only wish to be able to drive in the UK then you will likely soon see more flexibility.

The first change that we are likely to see is a reduction in the minimum course length. Currently DCPC must be delivered in 7 hour “modules”. It is widely agreed (including by us at Traxion Training) that this is simply too long! The current proposal is to reduce this to a minimum of 3.5 hours, although Drivers will still have to complete 35 hours in total over 5 years, they will be able to do it in shorter “modules”. This would make it easier to fit training in around work and other commitments. All good in our opinion!

The next change is the likely introduction of E-learning in order to make up some of the hours. So instead of having to sit live, tutor lead sessions, Drivers will have the option to make up some of their requirement by sitting online courses at times to suit them. This will likely be useful to drivers who are more comfortable using online platforms, but probably won’t be everyones cup of tea.

Update 13th November 2024

The government has now confirmed that the above changes to Driver CPC will come into affect on the 03rd December 2024. This is relatively short notice after such a long wait and it’s likely that there will be a lot of confusion from drivers and companies. Traxion will be continuing to deliver the standard 7 hour modules throughout 2024 and all of our courses will be accredited for both international and the new national CPC. You can check our course schedule and book on the home page here.

You can read the latest update here.

Test Option

There is also ongoing consultation about introducing a test option as part of the changes to Driver CPC, instead of periodic training (there’s no suggestion that mandatory tests will become part of the periodic training). So Drivers could sit an onscreen test, similar to a Theory Test, and if they pass then they will not need to undergo any training. There’s no suggestion that the tests will be mandatory and periodic training will always be an alternative option. This proposal will not be introduced in 2024 and no definite decisions have been made if it ever will actually be introduced.