The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has introduced a national network of training venues to meet rising demand from fleet managers.
Fleet take-up of AFP Academy training has soared by 29% so far this year and Paul Hollick, chair at the industry body, said more locations were needed to cope.
“In the past, we’ve been able to book venues to hold our in-person courses on a fairly informal basis but the increased number of training sessions we are now running across the UK means that finding appropriate facilities has become trickier.”
The association has identified a number of AFP corporate members around the UK who have the space and are happy to become involved in the initiative.
“They will form the core of our new, official network of AFP training venues and provide the capacity that we need to continue to expand in this important area of activity.”
Fleet demand for training rose noticeably during the pandemic and Hollick said numbers continued to rise.
“When people were sitting at home avoiding Covid, it made sense that they had time to spend on honing and improving their skills. However, even now things have largely returned to normal, they are continuing to look for further training.
“Much of this is due to the fact that working in fleet at this moment in time is especially challenging and fleet managers are looking to become better equipped to handle a whole range of issues, notably electrification.”
Training courses that have proved particularly popular in 2024 include a new half-day session on electric vehicle management that Hollick said had “hit a sweet spot”.
But the AFP is also seeing high demand for other courses, such as those introduced to help fleet managers, especially women, make their voices heard within their corporate environments, alongside the AFP’s established four-tier core fleet skills courses.
The AFP has also added some well-known faces to the trainer roster for its Fleet Academy – including Matt Dale, Paul Miers, Matt Neale and Derek Thornton – and will soon be issuing its 2025 training calendar.
“Training places for 2024 are almost booked up, so we’d advise fleet managers who are interested in enhancing their skills to book next year’s courses as soon as possible,” Hollick added.
Further details on the AFP Fleet Academy and its courses are here.
