A specialist driver recruitment agency has teamed up with a training company in response to the looming HGV driver shortage that’s threatening to derail the transport and logistics sector.

The partnership between Driving Force, a division of Gap Personnel, and Chevron Training is helping hundreds of drivers across North West England and North Wales obtain their Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training before the September 2014 deadline.

European legislation states all professional drivers must complete CPC training, which can cost the individual hundreds of pounds. Drivers, along with their employers, will be liable for fines if they are caught behind the wheel without a Driver Qualification Card after the deadline. However, several recent surveys have suggested that many drivers do not intend to complete the training, often because of the cost involved, and are thinking of changing career or retiring. Even amongst drivers who plan to complete the required 35 hours of training, many have still not found the time or money to start and are now facing a race against time – with just 18 months to go until the deadline.

The partnership between Driving Force’s North West hub in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and Chevron Training, a driver skills company based in Flint, North Wales that offers CPC training, is thought to be the first of its kind in the region. Driving Force covers the cost of CPC training with Chevron for newly-registered drivers, meaning they don’t have to pay a penny, while Chevron refers drivers who are on the lookout for work to the agency.