Farmers and agricultural businesses wanting to improve staff driving skills can access a subsidy of up to 90% to upskill existing employees.
One of the key opportunities on offer will be to offer staff the opportunity to become fully-trained HGV drivers, thanks to a £50m commitment from the Department for Education (DfE).
HGV training specialist HGVC has over 1,800 places available for the next two years as part of the HGV Driving scheme, a lead initiative in the Government’s Skills Bootcamps.
First launched in December 2021, the committed funding will see the opportunity last until February 2026.
It comes following reports at the end of last year that a lack of HGV drivers was reaching a “tipping point” due to knock-on effects from the pandemic and increased delivery demand.
The flexible courses, which will run for up to 16 weeks, give agricultural workers the opportunity to improve their sector-specific skills.
The course will be accessible through three pathways: helping novice drivers gain their Category C (rigid lorry) licence, a Category C + E (articulated lorry) licence, or helping individuals with a Category C licence upgrade to a Category C + E.
For organisations with more than 250 employees, the DfE will fund 70% of the training, and for businesses with less than 250, 90% of the cost is covered. Employers will fund the remainder.
James Clifford, CEO of HGVC, said: “For agricultural firms large and small, this is a major opportunity to upskill their staff with a significant subsidy from the Government. We’ve had great success over the past two years working with agricultural firms of all shapes and sizes and we’re looking forward to continuing to do so.
“With this funding, we can get even more drivers behind the wheel and keep Britain moving.”
The training courses are available at 60 locations across the country and can be applied for here.
