11/10/2012 - Guild celebrates 2,500 CPC training days
With the deadline fast approaching for many drivers to complete their first 35 hours of CPC training, the Guild of British Coach Operators has just celebrated delivering its 2,500th training day.
The Guild was an early adopter of the scheme, registering with JAUPT in July 2007 and delivering its first course in October 2008. The Guild’s Centre Manager Richard Delahoy explained “Our member companies were already committed to training their staff so it was relatively easy to adapt to the JAUPT rules for CPC training. By working together as a consortium we have shared costs and just as importantly, shared knowledge and experience amongst our trainers. They meet regularly and can access a portfolio of courses, including an annual refresher on the key compliance issues like drivers’ hours and walk round checks, dealing with emergencies and vehicle evacuation, and excelling in customer care”.
The 2,500th training day was delivered to a new recruit at The Kings Ferry, Clive Chinsky, seen here receiving his course certificate from Kings Ferry Managing Director and Guild Chairman Ian Fraser, along with trainer Lawrence O’Neill on the historic course. Ian Fraser commented “We are well advanced in training our existing staff but an increasing problem for operators is in recruiting new staff who have established pcv licences but few or no CPC hours. By using the Guild induction and other CPC courses, we can have new recruits up to 14 or 21 hours within a short time of joining us, keeping us on track to meet the September 2013 deadline”.
The Kings Ferry, owned by National Express, is one of 22 member companies of the Guild of British Coach Operators and has been nominated for the Operator Training Award at the routeOne Operator Excellence Awards 2012.