Has anyone here done this qualification? Is this a difficult qualification to gain nowadays? I mean, are the exams difficult? How long does the qualification last for? Do you have to do a refresher after so many years? Thanks.
There is talk about making TM CPC holders do refresher courses to keep the qualification valid, I don’t know whether or not it will happen but it does appear that the idea is being discussed.
Become a transport manager: Qualifying as a transport manager - GOV.UK.
The refreshers are recommended every three years. The traffic commissioners can and do request this on operator licence applications.
OK thanks for the replies. How difficult is it? I did it a few years ago. Has it changed in the last 10 years?
I did it back when it was two separate things.
Unless you specifically need to do it and the company is paying for it, I wouldn’t recommend that you undertake it yourself.
I did it in September, funded by myself, and passed (with a good mark actually 
)
While I wouldn’t say it was easy, there is no doubt that my long term experience within the industry helped a lot. Theres a lot of things to remember. The other lad on my course who hadn’t been a driver struggled a bit and failed one of the exams.
READ THE QUESTION!!!
Looking for work in the North Yorkshire area by the way 
If you do the TMCPC and don’t actively use it at an operating centre for 5yrs, or have not used it since you passed the exams, it’s likely that you will be obliged by the TC to undergo a 2 day refresher course in order to act as a TM. The only real exception to this is when the operating centre is run on a restricted O licence, as there’s no obligation for anyone to hold a TMCPC
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Did mine 18 years ago. National was 4 days intensive then test on Friday. The international was 3 days and test on Friday. It was very hard but I passed the national first time. The international was extremely hard but I scraped through somehow. After I got the owner driver thing out of my system it’s pretty useless. Wages are rubbish and if you got a job as a TM for someone all the crap comes back to your door.
Like you I did them both a long time ago with the aspiration of owning a truck, but that novel idea soon became a distant memory when the reality struck me of how bad it really was. The old adige of how to make a £Million in road transport, by starting with £2million still rings true.
The saleries of Transport office staff, and transport managers doesn’t reflect the responsibility involved, and despite the long hours drivers still make more PA than the office staff, without the stress.
Examples of this include a couple of vacancies for B&Q locally, one (of a couple of jobs) at Doncaster for a lead shift manager Sun-thurs (nights) & 06:00/14:00 & 14:00-22:00 are £28K, with additional shift requirements every 3rd week,Transport Team Leader Job Details | GXO Logistics and Transport Team Leader Job Details | GXO Logistics at B&Q Blyth a admin job is advertised (any 5 from 7) up to £25K. Transport Administrator Job Details | GXO Logistics
Their depot shift TM’s are typically on £32K-£38k PA, and they have a very high turnover of office staff.
There’s a more local TM job near the Stockyard, that has come up on my radar £?
The two day TMCPC refresher courses are anything between £180 and £600 a go, so if you’re funding your own TMCPC or considering under taking it you’ll need to factor that in as ongoing expenses for retraining.
There are some other courses available such as Health and safety that complement the TMCPC program
Certainly a Tm has a level of responsibility, but in many ways, if they just do the job they are asked to do, then it’s not a problem. The challenge is where a TM is named on the O licence and is managing the operations which are often two competing and conflicting roles.
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I did mine by home study - not easy, but do-able - obviously
Most folk go on a course, but that can be a pricey
That’s very misleading, you’re making it sound like a bog-standard office management job, but it’s far more than that.
The OTC defines the role of Transport Manager as someone who must
“effectively and continuously manage the transport activities of an undertaking holding an operator’s licence”, and, “The transport manager retains legal responsibility regardless of whether their individual activities are delegated.”
Statutory Document 3
Not at all. Being a TM has its responsibilities, and as long as they do their job, it’s no problem. And as you say it’s in SD3, the conflict is when that TM is also involved in things like ops managing where they also have multiple employee responsibilities in their job spec and business responsibilities and often they can clash.
You’re implying a disparity where none exists: The TM’s job IS to manage multiple people; any and all people who constitute the "the transport activities of an undertaking holding an operator’s licence” . This includes as standard: drivers, loaders, maintenance staff, managers and directors.
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I’ve had at least 5 offers over the years to be a ‘sleeping CPC holder’ (got mine in 80s) on a bit of a ‘formality basis’ in reality if you will…at least 2 of those offers were quite financially lucrative from friends.
Turned them all down as I could not be arsed with the potential sh storm if anything went wrong.
My days of having anything to do with transport management (seriously or tenuously) are long gone and will remain so.
Likewise, usually by a ‘friend’ who you wouldn’t trust with a wheelbarrow never mind a 44 tonne truck!