The Association of Fleet Professionals is to run an increased range of training courses in 2023, while holding fees at the current level.

AFP chair Paul Hollick said interest in training had been rising since the pandemic, with this year’s courses being fully booked

The extra courses are designed to help fleet managers enhance both their core skills and meet new challenges in areas such as the switch to electric vehicles.

At the same time, the industry body will hold fees at their current level until at least the end of 2023, responding to current economic conditions.

Paul Hollick, AFP chair, said interest in training had been rising since the pandemic, with this year’s courses being fully booked.

“There’s been a definite increase in fleet managers looking to upskill to meet current and future fleet challenges such as electrification, so we are offering more training courses in 2023 with 85% more training spaces. Also, with finances being tough at the moment for many of our members, keeping fees down seems like the right course of action. In our view, good training should be accessible and affordable.”

Available courses include the ‘Making the Switch to Electric Vehicles’ tuition, which will run on 25 April, 8 June, 12 September and 5 December while the complementary ‘Transition to eLCV Fleet’ is scheduled for 26 April, 14 June, 13 September and 6 December.

Its Strategic Fleet Vehicle Management training is aimed at those with responsibility for managing a vehicle fleet and comprises a trio of two-day training sessions. Cohorts start on 15 February (Midlands) and 9 May (Basingstoke). The course is also available in an online, distance-learning format.

Funding and Finance for Fleet Professionals, part of the Fleet Vehicle Strategic Management programme, is also available as a standalone two-day course which will run on 7-9 March and 4-5 October.

Other courses include Introductory and Advanced Fleet Vehicle Management options. The former can be started anytime as online, self-paced learning, while the Advanced training starts on 21 March (Midlands) and consists of eight training days.

Alongside freezing its training fees, the AFP also announced last week that it’s keeping its membership fees at the current rates for the next year. The association said it had attracted a substantial number of members since its formation back in 2020 and recognised it had a “responsibility to support the fleet sector at a practical level”.