FTA hosts first Van Excellence driver competence course

By Tim Campbell

14 August 2015

The FTA has hosted its inaugural Van Excellence Certificate of Driver Competence course.

Delegates who attended the event, held in Leamington Spa, were informed of the importance of commitment to operating a safe and compliant fleet, and the perception and professionalism of the role of a van driver.

The Certificate of Driver Competence was created in conjunction with the FTA Van Excellence scheme - working closely with members to meet the demand from operators wanting to demonstrate how professional their drivers are.

The programme offers operators two elements:

Training: FTA will provide in-house van driver competence training, and ‘train-the-trainer’ using the Community Driver CPC model. Users will be able to access computer-based training.
Assessment: Van drivers can be put through assessments at recognised centres. Operators will be offered the chance to become recognised as assessment centres, and FTA will also be able to provide assessment centres.

Mark Cartwright, FTA head of vans said: “The development of the Van Excellence Driver Certificate of Competence is a great example of how the scheme is able to recognise a need and develop a solution with the support of the van operating industries.

“FTA operators have told us what is important to them and the training has been designed to meet these needs. It’s all about demonstrating, through both the training and qualification process, a real commitment to operate in a safe, considerate and compliant manner. It’s about being professional.”