I have done a search and found one member who has done online CPC. It looks as if I will have to do online CPC myself so I would be grateful to hear ‘pros and cons’ from anyone.
My company do in house CPC and I have been with them for 2 years but before Xmas the instructor died. The company have now decided to ‘out source’ the CPC which means drivers attend on a Saturday. I work Wed to Sun… so they have suggested one does the course on Saturday but work the day either side of one’s shifts. This means a loss in wages of about £100 per day (the difference between week days rate and weekend rate) along with the reduced rest issue. I might as well pay for each myself at £80 a day session or take leave and do a 5-day course.
I came to the company with one CPC day which I have now found invalid and last year was coping with a health issue so didn’t do one. Obviously the best thing is to do ONE a year so no hassles.
It seems an online CPC would be best for me and I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has done it.
The cheapest is vr-services.co.uk/category/training/
I’ve no idea how good they are, other people here have used them, and I’ve not heard of any problems. Why did you lose your day?
I did my 35hrs in a week online (as an old new pass) I couldn’t recommend it, but needs must…
stu675:
The cheapest is vr-services.co.uk/category/training/
I’ve no idea how good they are, other people here have used them, and I’ve not heard of any problems. a] Why did you lose your day?
I did my 35hrs in a week online (as an old new pass) b] I couldn’t recommend it, but needs must…
a] As I explained… if you do more than 6 sessions or over 35 hours then it is not carried over into the next 5 years.
b] why not?
It’s needs must for me so not a lot of options. Company provided will cost me £500 in lost wages. Weeks attendance course would be £400 ish and online £200 ish. Your course was the cheapest… i wouldn’t go cheap for anything.
jessejazza:
a] As I explained… if you do more than 6 sessions or over 35 hours then it is not carried over into the next 5 years.
If you say so, but I’m surprised. I’ve recently completed 35 hrs, so that will expire in five years, If I did another day I would expect that to go towards my years 6-10 requirement
b] why not?
It’s just down to the individual trainer that you get, mine liked to tell his stories more than present the material (IMO).
35 hrs is a long slog - I’m unsure, are you coming to the end of your 5 years? or just trying to catch up with one day a year?
It’s needs must for me so not a lot of options. Company provided will cost me £500 in lost wages. Weeks attendance course would be £400 ish and online £200 ish. Your course was the cheapest… i wouldn’t go cheap for anything.
Why not? you don’t always get what you pay for, some things are genuinely better value than others. I believe VR have a good reputation. Mine was just packaged with my training provider.
Also, what are you trying to achieve? just remain legal, or do you think you need training in some areas?
What I liked… The sessions were done as an evening course. Each individual course was split over two consecutive evenings. I did 5 courses (35 hours) over a 5 week period. The course ran from 7pm -11pm with 30 mins of rest. (Started 6:30pm for sign in & licence check ect) It worked for me as it enabled me to do my CPC without taking time off work.
The downside… It made a very long working day. After a 10 hour shift at my day job then 4 hours on zoom. Made quite a long tiring day. Hence why I did the full 35 hours over 5 week
I did mine with CPC Direct Training Ltd in March. 0700-1530. You can do 5 days or split the days over several weeks. It would be hard going to do 5 days straight. I split it up. You can book it all via their website. I found them to be very helpful - I had to change two sessions after I had booked them and they allowed me to rebook without a problem. I have nothing to compare it to, it being my first CPC but I would rate them and the content. I paid £293.75 for the 35h.
jessejazza:
a] As I explained… if you do more than 6 sessions or over 35 hours then it is not carried over into the next 5 years.
If you say so, but I’m surprised. I’ve recently completed 35 hrs, so that will expire in five years, If I did another day I would expect that to go towards my years 6-10 requirement
b] why not?
I don’t know where your information has come from jessejazza but it’s incorrect. Once you’ve got your 35 hours, all further hours you’ve done (24 hours after your previous 35 hours was completed) WILL count towards your next 35 hour block.
DCPC hours only become invalid if they’re older than five years since the date the training was done: on your DCPC record they show as “used” once they’ve counted towards your card and “invalid” when they’ve passed their expiry date.
My next card (due Sept 2024) has been in the bag, with all 35 hours completed, since late 2019, the year my current card came into play, and there was only about two months between my last course of the previous card and the first one of the next card.
jessejazza:
a] As I explained… if you do more than 6 sessions or over 35 hours then it is not carried over into the next 5 years.
If you say so, but I’m surprised. I’ve recently completed 35 hrs, so that will expire in five years, If I did another day I would expect that to go towards my years 6-10 requirement
b] why not?
I don’t know where your information has come from jessejazza but it’s incorrect. Once you’ve got your 35 hours, all further hours you’ve done (24 hours after your previous 35 hours was completed) WILL count towards your next 35 hour block.
DCPC hours only become invalid if they’re older than five years since the date the training was done: on your DCPC record they show as “used” once they’ve counted towards your card and “invalid” when they’ve passed their expiry date.
My next card (due Sept 2024) has been in the bag, with all 35 hours completed, since late 2019, the year my current card came into play, and there was only about two months between my last course of the previous card and the first one of the next card.
Thx [and ROG] for clarifying that matter much appreciated.
I did one online course with a company about 18 months ago, it was truly awful. No interaction, the trainer was really tedious and no one else on the course was interested.
Regards the dcpc hours question. You cannot do more than 35 hours in the five years before your current entitlement expires. So if your expiry is 9th September 2024, then you could only do a max of 35 hours before that date, any more will be invalid. The 35 hours you do will increase your entitlement date to 9th September 2029. As soon as you pass 9th September 2024 you can do another 35 hours. Unless of course the government changes the goals posts for some reason.
I did a week of online CPC in October last year when I returned to driving. I was in a group of 18 people who mostly fell asleep during the afternoon sessions and showed next to no interest in the course work. It was quite disjointed on 2 of the days due to the instructor having various internet problems and most of the course work appeared to be glossed over. Previously I have done classroom courses over 5 days and I much prefer this as people will get involved and chat when in the same room.
Online CPC is the quickest and cheapest option but be prepared for long tedious lessons.
The good points to doing it online are being able to stay at home in your pj’s or whatever you want to wear. Ability to go get a drink/food whenever you like. Catch up on tv that you can play on a second screen to alleviate the boredom while your waiting for someone to sort out their internet issues before re-joining the lesson so it can continue.
The cons are something to put up with. By day 5 your used to them.