A changing world requires innovative solutions and the Scania Driver Experience – Scania’s new driver development initiative which launched at the beginning of this year – has been designed to support the industry through an extensive and high quality range of training programmes now being offered nationwide
A hundred years ago none of this would have mattered. For back then anyone wishing to drive a motor vehicle – be it car, commercial or motorcycle – simply had to pick up the key (assuming the vehicle required one) and drive away. No licence existed and as for a test, well, it would be another 30 years before they would come along. And even then, the outbreak of World War II just a few years later saw driving examinations suspended for the duration, (as they were again during the Suez crisis of 1956). In those days, it seems, the quantity of available drivers was far more important than their quality.
But how times change. Today, only one person in the United Kingdom is absolved from the requirement to hold a licence should she wish to drive – Her Majesty the Queen. For the rest of us, including the nation’s commercial vehicle drivers, ever-more stringent driving tests have become the norm. And despite the UK’s well-publicised commercial driver shortage, there’s no prospect of the entry requirements being relaxed in any way whatsoever in this safety-conscious day and age.
In fact, the opposite is true – for next year the EU Driver Training Directive, which passed onto the statute books in 2006, will be enacted. The directive comes into force first of all for bus and coach drivers in September 2008, followed a year later by truck drivers. What it will mean is that all commercial vehicle drivers will require not only an LGV or PCV licence if they wish to find work, but also a driver’s CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence – not to be confused with an operator’s CPC)
The only exemptions will be those not driving for hire or reward and drivers involved in the operation of community bus permit schemes. Everyone else will have to earn their spurs. From the introductory date, new drivers entering the industry will have to successfully complete an initial course to gain their CPC. Existing licence holders will have up to five years to acquire theirs through what will be known as periodic training, which essentially amounts to 35 hours of instruction taken in blocks of at least seven hours each within that five year period. Thereafter, all drivers will have to continue to meet the 35 hours training requirement every five years to maintain their CPC.
It is against this background that Scania decided to enter the driver-training arena. “It’s no secret that the transport industry is already under considerable pressure in terms of driver-training and development,” says Scania Driver Training Manager, Mark Agnew. “And we foresee that the additional load placed upon operators by the driver CPC will only exacerbate the problem unless more training capacity becomes available.”
Unlike virtually any other driver training and development operation, the Scania Driver Experience is a nationwide scheme. “The programme operates out of Scania’s Edinburgh, Sheffield, Purfleet and Avonmouth branches, thereby making it accessible to everyone,” says Mark Agnew. “At each location we have two in-house training instructors and two dedicated Scania Driver Experience trucks, a 230 horsepower P94 4x2 rigid and a 340 horsepower R114 4x2 articulated tractor unit.
“By using only our own in-house instructors and trucks, we know we are delivering training of the highest quality. Moreover, as something like one in five heavy commercial vehicles on our roads today is a Scania, there is a good chance that those who train with us will find themselves behind the wheel of one of our trucks once they pass their test.
“Of these, some are likely to be driving the very model they learnt on, so they will not require any further product familiarisation before taking to the road – which means the Scania Driver Experience offers an additional potential benefit to operators employing Scania-trained drivers.”
In addition to driving instruction for LGV and PCV trainees, the Scania Driver Experience provides a wide range of complementary training courses. “The breadth of our offering is an important aspect of the Scania Driver Experience,” says Mark Agnew. “That’s because our overall objective is to provide operators and those entering the industry with a comprehensive range of options capable of fulfilling a wide variety of training and skills development needs.”
Underpinning the Scania Driver Experience is Scania’s long-held commitment to improving driving standards and road safety. “Scania has always been a safety-oriented company and the Scania Driver Experience very much follows in that tradition,” says Mark Agnew. “But it is also about providing a much-needed service. The age profile of Britain’s commercial vehicle drivers has been on the increase for a number of years now and if new blood is to be attracted to the profession, the industry has to be able to offer the most attractive prospects.
“We firmly believe that through the Scania Driver Experience we will not only encourage new drivers into the fold, but through developing their skills to a higher level than they may ever had envisaged, we will stand the best possible chance of retaining them as well.”
The Scania Driver Experience
The Scania Driver Experience offers a broad range of courses, including:
Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) driving licence instruction
- Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) driving licence instruction
- Driver CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) related courses
- Driver familiarisation
- Safety training
- Working Time Directive
- Digital tachograph
- Mechanical handling (fork lift truck) licences
Plus a range of bespoke courses to suit operator needs.
Information and bookings for courses are handled centrally by the Scania Driver Experience helpline, which can be reached on 0844 800 9131. Alternatively, further details are available on-line at www.scania.co.uk/learntodrive or from your local Scania dealer.
