Professional HGV drivers need to complete their 35 hours of training before 10 September 2014 to qualify for their Driver CPC.

But if recent reports are anything to go by many drivers are lagging way behind and stand a very good chance of missing the deadline.  If they do, they will not be allowed to drive professionally and will be out of work.

Skills for Logistics the Sector Skills Council for the UK's freight logistics industries, has voiced its concerns over the poor take up of compulsory training by drivers.

In a recent statement it said that since the Driver CPC was introduced nearly 600,000 professional drivers across the goods and passenger sectors have undertaken periodic training. However, to date only 100,367 individuals have completed their periodic training and obtained their Driver Qualification Card (DQC). That equates to only 19% of the professional driving workforce.

Skills for Logistics along with prominent trade associations, has expressed concerns over the future of the driving industry as September 2014 draws nearer. SfL shared its concerns in the report, 'A looming Driver Shortage? The evidence behind the concerns'. while the Freight Transport Association predicts there could be as much as a 30% shortfall in the number of legally qualified drivers of LGVs by 2014.

The Driving Standards Agency’s Chief Executive Rosemary Thew said, "Great Britain's roads are among the safest in the world and one of the ways we aim to keep them so is by encouraging all drivers to keep their skills up to date."

Joan Aitken, Lead Traffic Commissioner on Driver CPC said, “Operators must ensure that their drivers have done the training. The consequences of not doing this could be loss of livelihood and action against operator licences."

The Mover has been nagging moving companies to get their drivers up to Driver CPC level for the last two years but, in discussions, it seems that many are still falling short.  Part of the problem is that the market uncertainties have meant that some companies are unsure how many drivers they will have on their books by September 2014 and are reluctant to pay for the training only to find drivers leave or they have to lay them off.  Unfortunately, the nearer to the deadline we get the more congested (and presumably expensive) the courses will become.  There comes a time when everyone will just have to take the plunge.

There are now over 3,000 approved training courses available to drivers, covering a range of topics from fuel efficiency to drivers' hours regulations and defensive driving.