Trailblazer apprenticeship - Express delivery courier.  The Next step is warehouse hub & level three and four

Last day of January 2016,  Gerry Swift at BIS confirmed approval of the Express Delivery Driver standard, subject to some final amendments. IOC Heads of industry meet Feb 26th to debate the assessment and look at the next levels.

Train the trainer conference at RTITB in the West Midlands looked at the answer. A full-house event of hauliers, trainers, awarding bodies and a traffic commissioner.

Trailblazer qualifications are headlining the transport news, both LGV and Express delivery courier, but who trains the trainers? To teach someone to drive a car you have to be a qualified instructor. There has long been discomfort in the heavy sector that no such qualification is needed in the truck world; the DVSA has a register but you don’t have to be on it and you don’t need any training qualification to teach truck drivers their driving skills.

RTITB launched their truck driver trainer standard in Telford. Carl Lomas, IOC chair, attended what was a big turnout. Hauliers, training providers, a traffic commissioner and awarding bodies were greeted with a display of heavy haulage from a yard full of MAN Iveco and Scania trucks.

Express delivery / courier trailblazer apprenticeship standard has been authorised by BIS at level 2, level 3 and 4 is on the starting grid and framework assessment design has begun.

IOC Tracey Worth met up with UPS at the recent RTITB train-the-trainer conference in the West Midlands to understand the system that leads to a high quality delivery in the express sector. Tracey had the discussion with Gary Swift and Andrew Louden who leads the UPS driver training for UPS UK, based in Tamworth, Midlands.

BIS Apprenticeship Trailblazer focus for Express Delivery courier in the Oxford Newbury area.

Talking shop with IOC Chair Carl Lomas about BIS recognition for Express Delivery courier apprentice trailblazer, Adrian Smith of Swift Couriers (Oxford &  Newbury) explained: ‘Elite couriers, this is where we need to be.’

Adrian Smith, IOC Fellow and owner of Swift - a strong company-owned van fleet, operating PAYE drivers and providing quality service to the West London corridor around the postcodes of Newbury and Oxford with focus on medical services clients. ‘Every driver goes through a detailed induction, 6 months attendance, 6 months specialisation to make the step to one of our elite couriers.’

Adrian is one of the heads of Industry Fellows joining the IOC panel discussions Feb 26th in the City of London with TfL boss Mike Brown. The invitation-only event is before the Fellows' gowning on the same evening at the House of Lords. Call Tracey Worth for details of a diary must-do (07976 263745)

Friday 29th January,  BIS confirming approval of the Express Delivery Driver standard, subject to some final amendments.

Gerry Swift, Standards Development Team. BIS/DfE Apprenticeships Unit

Congratulations on having the standard approved and many thanks to you and the rest of the group for all your hard work on this.’

IOC Chairman Carl Lomas comments

This is a great step for our future workforce in express delivery and courier, Justin Moore City Sprint chaired the employer group meetings, outstanding contributions from so many employers, nationals, networks and local SMEs. The standard that will set the future qualification for our sector. It’s a big thank-you all round for everyone who has made this possible. Broad input came in from the LEP teams D2N2, LLEP, SEMLEP, NLEP and more with education advice and support from Universities including Derby, SHU and LMU. This will be a vocational qualification for our front-line teams delivering at the client face.

First emails following the Friday afternoon news...

Patrick Gallagher, CitySprint, ‘Great news, congratulations.’ Alastair Brooks Manchester college, ‘Fantastic news, congratulations.’ Sarah Maddox, UK Mail. ‘Great news.’ Sharon Davies, DHL, ‘Well done.’ Elaine Harris, Action Express, ‘Fantastic’. Marjorie Semple, principle West Thames college Heathrow, ‘Fantastic news – well done for getting that through.’  Stephen Ram Kissun, AELP. ‘Well done looks very promising to seal of approval from BIS.’ Andrew Lowery TNT, ‘Brilliant  - not every Friday you get a green light like this.’  Patrick Henry, Grimsby ac ‘That's good news well done’. Pierre de Carteret, ‘Congratulations, that is excellent news!’.  Stewart Segal AELP ‘Congratulations.  I am sure it will prove very beneficial for the sector.'

More as they come in...

Jill Godard, Findafuture, ‘Excellent news - well done to you and your team and your industry colleagues. A great start to 2016!’  Professor Rod Dubrow-Marshall Univ Derby, ‘This is really great news’.

Steve May NCDA, Sameday Company, ‘Excellent News, Congratulations, everyone should be applauded for the hard work.’ Lisa Smailes Pearson-Edexcel, ‘That's great news that the standard has now been approved, congratulations!’ Professor Liz Barnes, Deputy VC, Sheffield Hallam Unv, ‘Great news! Well done.’

Deputy Director of the joint DfE/BIS Apprenticeships Unit Jennifer Coupland opened: introduction of the new institute for apprenticeships before key focus - ‘end point assessments’ measuring the assessments, quality and comparability both internally and externally. Event closed with an outline from Mark Froud FSSS (fed for sector skills standards) ‘certificate production by FSSS will be mandatory for all trailblazers’

BIS have just launched this month’s surveys on Standards; the Express Delivery standard is now online - click  here to see the survey

Carl Lomas IOC Chair,

I am keen to see feedback into BIS for their online survey. Trailblazer submissions, Express delivery / Courier deadline is Friday, Dec 11th .

Express delivery / courier trailblazer apprenticeship standard was submitted to BIS today (November 26th) by the IOC and signed by the employer group chair, Justin Moore, CitySprint..

Clydesdale Bank sponsored Heads of Industry event afternoon of  Oct 27th preceding the National Courier awards at the IOD. Clever fit to diary IOC are hosting a Heads of Industry strategy workshop during the same afternoon, sponsored by Clydesdale Bank who will be talking about diesel derivatives before BIS focus on the Courier Trailblazer apprenticeship and employer coalition for the workforce shortage. Free to IOC fellows you must email your attendance for a bacon butty lunch and the workshop to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Photo - IOC Chairman carl Lomas with IOC President Lord Falkland and the first draft of framework for the BIS courier trailblazer.

Courier Trailblazer makes its next steps with the first draft of the assessment framework.

A first framework draft is on the web for trailblazer courier apprenticeship.

Courier Trailblazer is ready for the next apprenticeship submission and has the first draft of assessment framework ready. Heads of industry are meeting Oct 27th (preceeding the evening of the National Courier awards) for the next step forward to a solution for workforce shortage in the courier sector.