Can the industry force authorities to be more flexible with driver training?

Remember Covid? Seems like a lifetime ago doesn't it?! It took hold of every facet of life and shook it up, sadly with often devastating consequences.

But out of the gloom came glimmers of hope, and for drivers who'd been subject to stereotypical attitudes rooted in the past there was a much needed boost; the media dedicated space to help viewers and readers understand the importance of truck and bus drivers, plus consumers and businesses quickly recognised the vital work that drivers do to keep life ticking over.

For driver training, national / regional lockdowns forced authorities and government departments to rethink their approach to mandatory training. Widespread refusal to acknowledge or accept eLearning as an alternative to classroom training could no longer be sustained when faced with an unprecedented situation that threatened the very concept of periodic training and continuous professional development, and so relaxations were introduced to help ensure that drivers got the education they needed for their career.

But not all countries were so responsive. A significant barrier seemed to be the issue of evaluation, especially regarding the trainer, the objectives and the outcomes. The fear was that a lack of face to face engagement in a classroom could, in theory, lead to an abuse of the system yet many providers reported a positive response from learners, so much so that eLearning's now a regular method of training delivery because those relaxations largely remain.

And it's easy to see why. Although the classroom's useful for delivering different topics in a secure environment, it does create a confined situation where trainers are only able to use a limited number of tools and methodologies. Now more than ever, people are looking at the options available for continuous professional development and are considering how the virtual classroom could be the model of the future.

This month the GamingDRV project team has published guidance on how to prepare, manage and deliver a remote learning course with professional drivers in mind. What's more, the guidance includes free examples of gamification that can often be so valuable when delivering a remote course.

GamingDRV, co-financed by the Erasmus+ programme, is a project implemented by partners from 5 European countries to address the issue of recognition and to help avoid a further increase in the deficit of skilled professional drivers. Gamification represents a real opportunity for learners in professional driver CPC (especially for those who've been neglected in education and training) by improving the quality and effectiveness of the training and raising the motivation of drivers to learn.

Our hope is that we can demonstrate the possibilities for future driver learning and encourage authorities and government departments to make the relevant legislation and framework more flexible for the sake of the industry.

For more information on the project or to register your interest please contact me at james@transformotion.co.ie