By Gillian McKenzie
FIFTEEN weeks – that’s how long the first ‘batch’ of personal licence holders has in which to complete refresher training.
It’s not much time, especially when it seems there are still thousands of PLHs across Scotland – those who obtained a personal licence on or before September 1, 2009 and must comply with the August 31 refresher training deadline – who have yet to book a place on a course.
The timing is far from perfect.
Operators are gearing up for a busy summer, with events like the World Cup and Commonwealth Games expected to boost trade; factor in annual leave for many people and the situation begins to look very grave indeed.
Training providers are understandably predicting a sharp rise in demand for places on courses in the coming weeks.
Many have told SLTN they are running additional courses in a bid to accommodate the large number of people required to undertake training by August 31; some said they have postponed their own holiday plans to put on extra training sessions.
Now operators must play their part.
Yes, the timing of the first deadline is not ideal; yes, there’s a lot going on this summer.
But meeting the refresher training deadline is absolutely imperative.
The message from training providers, trade groups and licensing lawyers could not be clearer: book onto a refresher training course now before it’s too late.
