Working as a transport manager is a busy job, and it can sometimes be hard to see ways to advance and upskill your career whilst managing a fleet. Keeping refreshed and learning new skills via courses can be a great way to both stay up to date and upskill as a fleet manager – and in fact, it’s all doable whilst maintaining work full time. But you might want help in working out which courses to do, and how long they will take. Training specialists Driver Hire break it down to help you take the next step in your management career.
1. Do regular refresher courses
Legislation is always changing in the transport industry, and to be a competent and respected transport manager with up-to-date knowledge, it’s important to take refresher courses. The Traffic Commissioners recommend a refresher every couple of years, to ensure your skills stay sharp. It’s a great way to maintain a good OCRS and stay compliant with your operator licence, as well as learning new legislation to help you be a better and more assured transport manager.
A Transport Manager Refresher course takes two days, and as a bonus, counts 14 hours towards your Driver CPC training.
2. Sign up for an Operator Licence Awareness Training (OLAT) course
When working as a transport fleet manager, the responsibility falls to you to keep up to date with all legal compliance related to the fleet. One of the best ways to ensure that you have all the current knowledge is to do an OLAT course. This type, of course, isn’t essential but is recommended to be completed every few years to help managers have a full understanding of relevant legislation. It’s also useful for anyone else involved in your transport operation, ensuring that everyone has a common point of view, helping to avoid penalties for the operation and the people working in it. OLAT is a great way to invest in your career and protect your operator licence.
This course takes one day, and counts 7 hours towards your Driver CPC training.
3. Check out Health and Safety courses
Another way to upskill and expand your knowledge as a fleet manager is to get health and safety qualifications. The IOSH Managing Safely course for example is a great way to enhance your reputation in the supply chain, and improve the safety of all staff in the organisation you manage. It helps managers assess and control risks, understand responsibilities and hazards and investigate incidents. It also helps managers measure performance against health and safety targets.
This course is three days and is delivered online.If you’ve already completed this course, looking at a refresher for managing safely would be a good option to further upskill.
4. Sign up for Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) training
Gaining FORS training is another excellent way to push yourself as a fleet manager and maintain a level of excellence in your fleet’s operations. FORS accreditation shows your supply chain and your customers your commitment to exemplary levels of practice in efficiency, environmental protection, and safety. There are multiple FORS courses available, with most taking a day to complete, or less, making them easy to schedule throughout the year.
5. Stay up to date with industry news
Aside from courses, reading and keeping up-to-date with industry news is vital for transport managers who want to get ahead. With an ever-changing industry and technological advances making major advances to how fleets are managed efficiently and safely, staying one step ahead of the curve by reading the news regularly can ensure you are amongst the first to upskill in areas which will make a big difference to your career and the success of your fleet.
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