‘Driving forward for a stronger fleet management future’ was the theme for this year’s Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) 17th annual members' conference.

The programme included two workshops and three keynote speakers, with the first workshop focusing on ‘creating the right environment’.

Attendees were asked to develop at least five ideas to stimulate and encourage suppliers to deliver truly outstanding service and also develop at least five ways of encouraging more active participation by drivers in the management of cost.

In the second workshop - 'Getting a better return on the fleet investment' - participants were asked to develop at least five initiatives to reduce the overall cost of cars used for business travel and also identify at least five ideas to reduce the cost of cars provided principally for staff remuneration

Chairman of the ICFM Roddy Graham said: "The workshop format admirably demonstrated the professionalism, expertise and enthusiasm of our members. The pro-active participation by all attendees resulted in two 'best practice' workshops judged of real value to all participants, especially in the current economic climate."

The first keynote speech, focusing on education and training, was delivered by Sarah Sillars OBE, executive chair of the Institute of the Motor Industry.

She outlined the future UK Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme (UK VQRP), which will allow employees to acquire new skills' qualifications 'bit by bit'.

The second keynote speech was made by Adrian Walsh, secretary and director at RoadSafe, who informed the audience that in the last ten years, 375,000 people had been killed or seriously injured on UK roads costing the nation 1.5% of GDP in addition to the personal loss.

Rounding off the day was Kevin Gaskell, CEO of Drive Development, who delivered a motivational talk based on his successful turnaround of Porsche in the UK and walking to the North and South Poles.