The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has given a green light to the Urban Driver Cat C Apprenticeship scheme, the RHA has announced.
The new 12-month scheme will give apprentices the skills needed to drive a Cat C or C1 vehicle through the urban road network, and allow them to gain their C or C1 licence, according to the association.
“Logistics businesses have paid over £630m into the Apprenticeship Levy since it was introduced in April 2017, and we finally have apprenticeships that all logistics can use” – added RHA when announcing the news.
Currently, there has been only one Large Goods Vehicle driver apprenticeship training course available, which was changed in August from Cat C only to Cat C and C+E. According to RHA’s head of policy for skills, Sally Gilson, this meant that companies that only operated Cat C vehicles lost their apprenticeship route.
“We have been campaigning for the ability to have two separate routes for many years but have always been told it’s not possible. This is a massive win for the sector” – she added.
As companies in the UK are facing a massive driver shortage of 75-100 thousand vacancies, the RHA hopes that the new apprenticeships scheme will give businesses such as waste and recycling, home deliveries and removals their own apprenticeship standard, allowing them a new way to bring in new drivers.