Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC)

Basic Course

The Certificate of Professional Competence is one of the requirements for holding a Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Licence. This Course prepares Candidates for the OCR Examinations to obtain the CPC for National and International Freight operations.

The examinations are held each quarter, and have recently included “Case Studies”, which need special preparation. For this reason, it is best to do the National Course first, and then the International separately in the next quarter. The Courses are intensive, and Candidates must be prepared to undertake revision work each evening and at the weekend.

Course content

The first Part covers the core subjects for the Freight National, including—

• Law
• Social legislation
• Financial management techniques
• Commercial routines and taxation

The second covers the Freight National transport, and follows on from the first, including—

• Maintenance, taxation, and costing
• Licensing, plating, and testing
• Weights and dimensions
• Construction and use, lighting
• Drivers hours and records
• Traffic rules

The third covers the Freight International, and runs at the same time as the second, including—

• Agreements, permits, quotas
• Customs procedures
• Transport under CMR
• National Traffic Regulations
• Specialist and ferry operations

OCR Examinations are held on a Friday, and the outline Course programs are therefore—

Week 1 Tuesday, Wednesday Core
Week 1 Thursday, Friday Freight National
Week 1/2 Saturday, Sunday Home Study
Week 2 Monday, Tuesday Freight National
Week 2 Wednesday, Thursday Revision Core and Freight National

Week 2 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Freight International
Week 2 Thursday Revision Freight International
Week 2 Friday Examinations