Looking for a new career? Why not train as a HGV Driver?

The Driver Academy Group (DAG), a consortium led by HGV training specialist HGVC, and comprising workforce solutions group Manpower and trade body Logistics UK, has again been awarded the lead role on the Government’s extended Skills Bootcamps in HGV Driving.

The scheme will train and place into work hundreds more HGV drivers across London over the coming year.

The training courses are available at dozens of locations.

The HGV Skills Bootcamps are flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills.

First launched in December 2021, the programme has been extended for a further 12 months until March 31, 2024.

DAG has been awarded a full extension of its original contract with the Department for Education (DfE), with scope for further expansion if capacity allows.

This translates to training at least a further 2,160 individuals over the next 12 months and creating almost 2,000 new drivers into the logistics sector.

With cost being the major barrier to entry into HGV driver training, the DfE funding offers a lifeline for both individual candidates and employers dealing with budget constraints given the cost-of-living crisis.

Within the new contract, DAG will deliver 1,300 partially funded courses.

These offer employers a 70 per cent contribution to HGV driver training through the DfE funding. In addition, HGVC will deliver 860 fully funded courses, aimed at individual candidates.

DAG’s 2023/24 programme will primarily focus on the novice training pathways, helping novice drivers gain their Category C (rigid lorry) licence, a Category C+E (articulated lorry) licence or helping those with a Category C licence upgrade to a Category C + E.

Since the launch of the Skills Bootcamps in HGV Driving in December 2021, the DAG has trained around 1,400 drivers.

Qualified drivers are securing starting salaries of up to £40,000.

The extended Skills Bootcamps in HGV Driving is live now.

DAG’s scheme is open to any individual holding a driver’s license for over three years or businesses looking to upskill their existing staff.

Both candidates and businesses can apply at www.hgv.academy.

 

Picture: The Driver Academy Group