An Operator’s licence is required if you wish to operate a goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes GVW for the carriage of goods in connection with a trade or business. One of the main criteria for the granting of a standard Operators license is having the required professional competence, i.e. the relevant CPC qualification.
How you attain the CPC (Certificate in Professional Competence) qualification (in road transport) has changed. It still remains the case that you will need to demonstrate knowledge (and application) by passing a number of exams to be awarded a CPC.
After 2nd December 2011 it will no longer be possible to attain just a national CPC qualification. The National and International CPC examination will become one combined award.
OCR’s (CPC examination awarding body) new CPCs in Road Haulage and Passenger Transport will both consist of a single multiple choice assessment and a single case study assessment. Both elements will test national and international knowledge/application. So, to achieve a new International CPC, candidates will only need to take two units.
The 2 exam units will be in a multi choice and case study format. To be awarded a CPC qualification students must pass both the following:
Multiple choice
The multiple choice assessment will be available from March 2012 (2nd March 2012.) The multiple choice element will be a timetabled assessment consisting of 60 multiple choice questions (and thus 60 marks.)
In order to pass this unit, candidates must achieve a score of at least 70% (at least 42 out of 60) across the paper. The exam duration is 2 hours. This paper will test knowledge of both national and international elements of the syllabus.
Case study
The new case study assessment will no longer be preceded by a pre-release scenario. Instead, a shorter, more relevant scenario will be issued with the papers at the start of the two hour assessment. This shorter case study will contain no distractions and will only contain information which will enable the candidates to demonstrate application of the knowledge they have acquired.
An additional improvement to the case study is that it will now only assess the core areas. The case study exam will focus on the application of knowledge, making candidates more adept at in the skills required in relevant transport careers and benefitting the transport industry in general by encouraging more relevantly qualified transport managers.
Another big change to the case study exam is that candidates will now be able to take any notes or books of their choice in to the case study assessment and questions will test application of knowledge only. The case study exam will be 2 hours in duration and must be sat at an OCR approved examination centre. Students will be asked 5-8 questions and must achieve a pass mark of at least 50%.
International CPC.
It will still be possible for national CPC holders (must have gained national CPC after 1.1.200 and before 4/12/2011) to attain the international CPC qualification only (for at least 12 months after new changes are implemented.)
Examination syllabus
The National and International Freight Syllabus covers the following subjects: Civil law, Commercial law, Social law, Fiscal law, Business and financial management of the undertaking, Access to the market, Technical standards and technical aspects of operation and Road safety
The OCR, CPC exam dates for 2012 are 2nd March and 1st June, 14th September and 7th December. The cut of point for CPC exam entry is approximately 3 weeks before test dates. There are a number of training options available to help you prepare adequately for the CPC exams, including classroom, home study and online tuition.
For more information please use our search facility and find a reputable CPC training provider in your area.
Information sourced and supplied by OCR.
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