Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, an awful lot changed in the transport and logistics industry, but one thing has remained constant – the need for training to ensure safety within operations.
It’s been more than a year since many Instructors and trainers working to support the supply chain moved training online with the help of Zoom and Teams! As it currently stands, recent rules set down by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) mean that each modular Driver CPC Periodic Training course (3.5 hours) is eligible to include one hour of self-paced eLearning, with the rest made up with ‘instructor led training. While the delivery of Driver CPC Periodic Training remotely via video call has been widely used to keep training running over the past year, this was designed to deliver traditional instructor led DCPC courses. When it comes to Driver CPC, self-paced eLearning is still not widely adopted.
However, with many supply chain organisations experiencing the benefits of eLearning for other types of courses, we conducted a survey to see how our RTITB Master Driver CPC Consortium members really feel about eLearning for Driver CPC.
How likely would you be to offer eLearning to drivers / customers?
Considering the DVSA rules that permit one hour of eLearning per module, 57% of members taking the survey were likely to offer eLearning going forward, with 38% of respondents ‘very likely’ to do so. Only 14% of those surveyed said that they wouldn’t be likely to offer eLearning at all in the future.
This intention to move towards eLearning is in line with a worldwide trend. It’s believed that the global eLearning market will reach £258 billion by 2025.So it seems that although some organisations have previously had reservations about eLearning, many have seen it prove successful during the Covid-19 pandemic and now believe that it is a great option to include in a training offering. It is also, of course, a fantastic alternative to face-to-face learning when it’s either not possible, not straightforward, or not financially viable.
Adding eLearning to RTITB Driver CPC Modules
We propose to develop eLearning for the first 45-minute topic of each of our Driver CPC Periodic Training modules, for example, ‘Load Safety Regulations’ from the module ‘Preventing Vehicle Loading Incidents’. In our survey, 85% of responses were happy with this approach.
This is fantastic news to the team at RTITB as we’re always looking for ways to help training teams and Instructors do what they do best and make training a top quality experience for drivers too. What’s more, we’re always happy to receive suggestions for innovative ways to move forward.
The modules that our members stated they would most like to see eLearning developed for are:
- Reducing Drivers’ Hours Rules Infringements – 42%
- How Drivers Can Reduce Fuel Consumption – 33%
- A Professional Driver’s Personal Development – 23%
- Understanding Influences on Driver Behaviour to Reduce Incidents – 19%
- Reducing Vehicle Infringements Through Drivers’ Daily Duties – 19%
Developing eLearning for other devices
The world is changing, and we understand that just as training doesn’t have to always be in a classroom, it may also not need to be undertaken sat a desk, using a computer. So we asked our members which devices they would like to see eLearning developed for.
More than 90% of responses said that they would like to see RTITB eLearning courses for Driver CPC developed for use on a PC / MAC. However, 71% of respondents would like eLearning compatible with tablet devices, and 52% would like to see eLearning developed for use on mobile phones. This indicates that there is a need for trainers and learners to be able to access and take courses easily from any location, such as while working at home.
Managing the cost
We also asked our members “If eLearning was available to you as a Consortium member, how would you prefer for costs to be arranged?”
42% of respondents said that they would prefer to pay on a ‘per driver’ basis, much like a ‘pay as you go’ system. This was closely followed by 38% of people who said that they would like the cost to be included within their annual membership fees, with this to be slightly increased to cover the cost of eLearning. 19% of responses said that they would like to have the option to pay for a year of unlimited access to RTITB eLearning content.
How we approach this moving forward is still to be confirmed, but we will certainly be looking to provide solutions that take these preferences into account and help our members to meet their training budgets. But remember, adopting eLearning can save you time and money! With RTITB eLearning, you can reduce your overheads and stay competitive. Not only can it drive down your costs around travel and overnight stays, but your Instructors will also gain more time to focus on the classroom and practical training that they love and excel at.
eLearning from RTITB – it’s not just helpful during the pandemic
Though Driver CPC eLearning is still under discussion, training providers and in-house training teams can utilise RTITB’s eLearning courses to deliver remote forklift, plant, and LGV Banksman theory training. This helps save Instructors’ time with no compromise on quality.
And watch this space for more information on how we’ll be addressing these survey results in our future plans!