A range of new fleet bursaries are to launch for the corporate memberships offered by the Association of Fleet Operators (AFP) in 2022.

AFP chair Paul Hollick said the new fleet bursaries will add value for corporate members while also enabling more people to join the association

Arriving as the AFP plans a recruitment drive for the next year, the bursaries will add value to memberships while also increasing access to the organisation.

They mean that service provider members will be able to offer a number of AFP memberships to their own fleet operator customers free of charge.

AFP chair Paul Hollick said: “This move will add value for our corporate members, allowing them to provide a benefit with genuine value to a number of their own customers with a need for the kind of specialist support the AFP provides.

“However, the bursaries should also simply allow more people to join us. We’ve been having a debate within the AFP for a while about the fact that there is a huge demand for the services and support that we offer but quite often, those individuals that most need our help can’t get the membership fee signed off, even though it is as low as £99 for individuals.

“The bursaries will provide a valuable new route into the AFP for some of those people.”

AFP corporate memberships for fleet service providers cover platinum (£2,000), gold (£1,000), silver (£500) and bronze (£299) levels. These offer graduated benefits, including the number of individual registrations provided, discounts on training and other activities, and the degree of presence on the AFP website.

There are also two levels of fleet operator membership: a £99 AFP Individual Membership and the £299 Fleet Operator Membership.

Members are able to use the Member of the Association of Fleet Professionals (MAFP) designation and also get full access to a wealth of materials in the AFP and ICFM website member area, support from the AFP helpline and unlimited attendance at AFP webinars, seminars and the annual national member conference.

Paul Hollick said: “We’ll be having something of a recruitment drive in 2022 for fleet managers because it does feel as though with issues such as post-pandemic fleet management and the drive for electrification, the AFP has a genuine responsibility as a professional industry body to make our expertise available to whoever needs it.”