Since 2018, HGVC has been working with Telford College in Birmingham and the partnership has proven to be a rousing success. What’s more, the benefits of this partnership are being felt by many people, as the training services the college offers are used by those in the area looking for a rewarding career as an HGV driver – something that actively addresses the UK’s current driver shortage.
The candidates using the college driving program come from a variety of backgrounds which calls for a bespoke approach in order achieve the required success. HGVC met this need with aplomb and excelled due to their flexibility and numerous locations, resulting in Telford College being able to deliver more funded training than ever and plan for a future where more candidates could be supported.
Across the Birmingham & Greater Birmingham Area
In 2017, Telford College began working with regional employers and other training partners to offer driver training for sector-based work academies to help people make the step into the industry. Prior to their Class 2 training, students get three weeks of full-time classroom-based training during which they complete all aspects of their HGV training to include medicals, theory tests, CPC and practical training.
The college attempted to optimise and expand their programme but were beset by a number of issues that included:
- Low pass rates in certain areas
- Long training completion times (over 6 months for some candidates)
- Poor visibility of candidate progress
- Lack of viable training locations to match ambitious expansion plans
- Minimal employment support for candidates during and after training
Until partnering with HGVC these issues persisted, after which their HGV training experts came in and conducted a thorough investigation into why some candidates were underperforming.
The issues discovered included the following:
- Modules 1 & 2 were being booked separately
- The CPC process only started after completing HGV practical
- A lack of theory onboarding & support from certain suppliers
- A lack of direct contact between the driver & programme coordinators
- It wasn’t possible to track a candidate after their 3-week induction programme
- Ongoing practical training issues
- Not using a centralised supplier in certain areas
At this point, HGVC came back and delivered a well thought-out strategy that addressed all of these issues.
The Solution Provided by HGVC
HGVC offered Telford College a fully managed service that allowed them access to more suppliers through centralised process and pricing. This significantly reduced the administration necessary to run simultaneous candidates across numerous locations allowing members of staff to focus on other business aspects.
The solutions included:
- The simultaneous booking of modules 1 & 2
- CPC was then completed at the same time as the Cat C licence
- They provided 1 on 1 theory onboarding sessions in weeks 1 & 2
- They opened a variety of communication lines including calling, texting & emailing with candidates
- They allowed Telford College access to the HGVC CRM so they could track candidates progress
- The onboarding session involved Manpower – HGVC’s national recruitment partner
HGVC’s Head of Business Development, Darren Clapich, explains the approach “We significantly reduced overall waiting times by booking modules at the right time and with the 1 on 1 phone sessions, we ensured that candidates were familiar with their theory software and the downloadable mobile app.
PowerPoint presentations were also developed to further support learning that has contributed to learners feeling much more at ease with their theory revision”.
Committed to Continuing Success
HGVC’s experience and considerable expertise were key to the success of this partnership. The training provider understands the challenges that training providers face and were able to significantly improve booking response times and add more channels of communication throughout the process.
HGVC’s portal is also a key driver in the equation, with access to their CRM allowing candidate progress to be tracked for full transparency. Also, HGVC’s exclusive partnership with Manpower, successful candidates are assisted into work through their many contacts – another key factor that has allowed Telford College to meet their own employment goals.
Having achieved 100% visibility of candidate progress and reduced average training times down from 6 months to 12 weeks, it’s obvious that HGVC’s methods are effective, but they are not resting on their laurels and are striving to make further improvements. Thanks to their input and their passion for providing excellence in training, much needed drivers will be entering an industry that’s crying out for new talent.
Anyone wishing to learn more about HGVC should visit their website www.hgvc.co.uk for more details.
