RoSPA Young Drivers at Work Report

Chapter 5
Structured vocational training to be completed in work time
● A recognised and accredited qualification which would
fit current apprentice or NVQ programmes and be
easily managed and monitored in-house
●
Shows the commitment of the employer and helps to
maintain standards
If the qualification is required for work, then the training
should be undertaken during work time.
Regular non-assessed training in work time
● Regular training is more effective and helps to
maintain standards
●
●
If the qualification is required for work, the training
should be undertaken during work time
Having the training in work time demonstrates the
organisation’s commitment
A one-off course outside of work time
● Less disruptive to work
Regular training sessions outside of work
● It would show that the employee is committed to
this issue
●
It would be less disruptive to the business and
regular training is more effective and helps to
maintain standards
For ‘other’ formats, eight out of 18 respondents (44%)
stated that the skills and knowledge that would form the
basis of such a qualificaton should be addressed in the
learning to drive and testing process.
Commercial organisations, however, stressed that they
would be unable to afford to ‘spare’ a member of staff for
the role of trainer, regardless of experience and suitability.
Therefore, an external agent who would work with
companies and adapt to their individual requirements was
regarded as the preferred solution:
“I think it would be better if it was done externally
because as time goes on we are getting leaner and
leaner as an organisation so finding an internal
trainer would be difficult. ”
(Engineering Manager, telephone interviewee)
“Because of the flexibility we need and because
within [the county] we are the biggest employer,
actually the college couldn’t help us on delivery of
training so we worked with them to put together
a training package which was then delivered
internally which allows us the flexibility we need.
I think that’s the general statement; a company
needs flexibility...We assess them on a basic level
internally and then when operationally available
they are externally assessed. ”
(Safety Manager, telephone interviewee,
original emphasis)
Organisations who already had internal driver training in
place viewed external independent assessment as a means
to validate their competency standards and driver
assessments. They also saw external bodies as a source
of support for the development of their policies and
practices. By ‘external’, respondents tended to mean
national accreditation.
Respondents saw multiple advantages with external
trainers and testers. These advantages are recorded below
in no particular order:
Interview findings
The interviews also found no overall consensus from
employers about how the programme should be
structured but flexibility and tailorability were key
requests. Training must meet employers’ needs without
excess demands and respect limited employee time.
A range of formats needs to be available as different formats
will suit different organisations and different types of staff.
Flexibility was seen as the primary advantage of delivering
training in-house.
●
●
●
●
●
Time set aside for training would be on an official basis
and less likely to be hijacked by internal matters
Training and assessments would be quality assured
As ‘experts’, the trainers would have the knowledge to
answer all queries
The training would have greater credibility
amongst staff
Certification would be transferable
20 Young Drivers at Work Report