Royal Mail : Royal Mail launches Driver Academy : Your route to a new driving career

[POSTMAN]

Royal Mail’s team of highly-skilled, dedicated professional drivers connect our network from A to B and back again, making the wheels of our operation turn smoothly for colleagues and customers.

We have the largest LGV fleet in the UK and are justifiably proud to have such a strong, safe and skilled team of drivers on the road. To make sure we continue to have drivers of the highest calibre to support our parcel growth, we are launching a brand new Driver Academy, in partnership with CWU, ( LTB 491/21 - JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU ON THE CREATION OF A DRIVER ACADEMY APPROACH TO PROFESSIONAL DRIVER TRAINING )
to train and develop future LGV and MGV drivers.

Four training pathways will be launching in the coming weeks and months under the umbrella of the Driver Academy. They have all been designed to support the career aspirations of current and future drivers at different stages of their professional journey:

Fastrack – supporting employees, with MGV and / or LGV entitlement on their driving licence, working outside of Distribution functions to gain their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC)

Career Path – offering a 12-week career path for colleagues who want to move into a professional driving role – either starting with MGV or moving from MGV to LGV. An enhanced hourly rate is offered once qualified and performing LGV and / or MGV driving. Colleagues will continue in their current role and be released for training modules. Once qualified, they will put their new skills into action throughout the year

Apprentice – launching in January with an initial cohort of around 20, the driver apprenticeship scheme will enable external candidates to join Royal Mail and become a road ready category C+E qualified driver within 13 months. The programme focuses on developing a complete novice into a safe, customer-focused Royal Mail Driver who is road ready and understands our supply chain

Continuous professional development - for drivers with existing LGV/MGV qualifications to help them maintain their skills and legal compliance and ensure Royal Mail continues its track record of on-road excellence.

The Driver Academy will draw on the expertise of an external training provider, System Group, as well as our unique team of in-house advanced driver coaches, to make sure Royal Mail’s cohort of drivers are the best of the best.
We are keen to support existing colleagues from right across the UK who are interested in exploring driver career opportunities. So, if the open road sounds appealing, we can help you navigate it. Employees will be able to apply for the training from 6 December and the application portal will be open for four weeks, with the first cohort of employees receiving their training in January 2022. More information will be available soon.
Further details on the driver apprenticeship programme for external candidates will be available in the coming weeks.