Drivers facing 17 million training hours

According to DVSA statistics 487,505 Driver Qualification Cards issued in 2019 are set to expire before the end of 2024.

Between them, these drivers who have to renew their card will need to attend a staggering 17 million hours of periodic training. On average, that’s 3.4 million hours of training each year, for five years.

Whilst the DVSA advises that drivers should each attend seven hours of periodic training per year, the fallout from Brexit and increased demand for drivers, along with the suspension of in-person training during the pandemic meant that this was almost impossible to achieve in 2020 and 2021. The number of periodic training hours fell to record lows and did not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022.

Still faced with driver shortage, this now leaves many transport operators with the dilemma of having to release drivers over the next 18 months to attend additional periodic training in order to renew their DQC on time.

James Swaffield, managing director for TTC Group, said: “While the uptake of our periodic training courses remains steady, we are aware that there is a groundswell of drivers who need to complete their training before the end of next year.

“There is a significant business risk for organisations for whom a large number of their drivers’ CPC expires in 2024. Our own customer data shows that 61% of DQC holders currently registered with our Driver Risk Management platform, Continuum, will expire in 2024.”