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ICFM ‘well placed’ to support unprecedented changes for fleet

Fleets may be facing an unprecedented list of key issues but the ICFM will continue evolving to guide members through challenging times.

ICFM's Paul Hollick says the organisation is well placed to help members tackle a raft of industry issues.

ICFM’s Paul Hollick says the organisation is well placed to help members tackle a raft of industry issues.

That was the message from chairman Paul Hollick at the organisation’s 2018 Annual National Members’ Conference this week.

Held at The British Motor Museum, Warwickshire and focused on ‘Fuel for the Future, the Emissions Dilemma’, the conference celebrated 25 years of the training organisation and looked to its future “amid a massive state of flux”.

Attended by a record 250 fleet professionals, the event saw ICFM chairman Paul Hollick outline how fleets were being hit by a raft of issues, including the continuing ‘demonisation’ of diesel amid air quality concerns; the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation; future company car benefit-in-kind tax increases; lease accounting standard changes from 2019; the introduction to fleets of ultra-low emission and plug-in vehicles; the continuing fall-out from the April 2017 introduction of Optional Remuneration Arrangements (OpRA); on-going concerns around occupational road risk; the introduction of autonomous vehicles and related concerns around terrorism and cyber security; and the ever-present topic of ‘big data’.

Hollick said: “The future is approaching faster than we think. The time to act is now. The challenges faced by fleet managers are of a level the like of which we have not seen before.

“But the ICFM is incredibly well placed to support this changing climate – we will always adapt to ensure our members and students are the most equipped, most specialised and most informed from whatever area they come from.”

Hollick’s comments come as the ICFM reports a record-breaking 12 months with unprecedented demand for training courses and is closing in on achieving the 1,000-member milestone.

Membership of ICFM has grown more than 9% in the past 12 months to almost 900 people and it is also training more employees than ever before including from the leasing sector, motor manufacturers and franchise dealerships as well employees with fleet responsibility working in company procurement, HR, finance and travel departments.

Furthermore, a total of 172 people – 52% women and 48% men – employed across the fleet industry were trained by ICFM in the past 12 months with a 400% growth in demand for its Introductory Certificate in Car and LCV Fleet Management course; and a 20% rise in people undertaking Certificate in Car and LCV Fleet Management and Diploma in Fleet Management courses.

Looking ahead, Hollick added: “Skills will change. Manual tasks will cease to exist in their current form and our creative sides will come to the fore. The ICFM is ready. As a progressive organisation, we will adapt training courses to suit the future.”

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.