Delivering the Goods with Online Driver Training

BLOG: Delivering the Goods
with Online Driver Training.

Meghan Sulpher

June 6, 2023

We’re super excited to be launching another innovative and collaborative workforce safety eLearning initiative. This time, we’ve partnered with the Canada Safety Council to develop Driver For Hire Online Training (DFH). The interactive online program advances job-specific and essential skills for delivery, passenger, rideshare and related industry drivers.

With this new nationwide initiative, drivers and job seekers will gain valuable upskilling along with a transferable digital training certificate. Employers will benefit from the added driver safety, confidence, and job readiness skills. And, with funding provided by the Government of Canada’s Skills for Success Program, this valuable driver training is fully funded and will be offered to employers and drivers at no charge during the rollout phase. Yeah, you read that right!

Why Driver for Hire?

Why did we embark on this project? Well, we’re all about delivering innovative workforce training solutions that benefit entire industries. In working with our partners at the CSC, it became clear that the rideshare and related delivery industries could avail of tailored and accessible safety training to augment basic driver training.

As noted by Gareth Jones, President and CEO of the CSC, “the growth and proliferations of employers and drivers within rideshare and related delivery industries presented an opportunity for advancing driver safety and confidence through a relevant and purpose-built training solution…” And that really sums up what led to our collaboration and shared vision for the training.

So, we got to work! As outlined in the DFH launch press release, the end result is an interactive and robust five-hour training program consisting of eight core modules specifically designed to enhance skills, safety and confidence for delivery, rideshare, taxi, and related “driver for hire” workers.

The Goal—Increasing Safety & Driver Confidence

The exponential growth of rideshare and delivery driver requirements (think online ordering) and vehicles on the road has presented a corresponding increase in risks and concerning trends in driver safety. Full stop.

For example, let’s talk about rideshare. The benefits for customer convenience and driver employment in this fast growing sector are well documented. However, its growth over the past decade or so has greatly increased the number of vehicle miles traveled and the number of vehicles on the road has led to an unfortunate rise in the number of traffic accidents and fatalities.

A 2018 US research study compared data before and after the introduction of rideshare apps across several cities. Researchers found that the number of accidents per 100,000 people increased from 2 to 3.5 after the major rideshare players went live, with 90% of accidents occurring on congested city streets, which are getting even more crowded year over year.

We can also look at the delivery industry and the increasing pressures and risk on drivers and the public. As demand for deliveries increased during the pandemic, more and more online ordering occurred, with more and more resulting deliveries and time-crunched drivers. The US Department of Labor 2021 census noted that fatalities amongst delivery drivers make up 20% of all workplace fatalities in the US, which is a startling statistic. And, as workloads and pressure increases on much busier roads, the risks increase further.

So, the data is out there, there are more vehicles, more drivers, more passengers and cargo being transported than ever before. And with that, comes more potential safety issues that can be mitigated through education and training provided by the industry and employers. DFH is one piece of the safety puzzle to help mitigate driver risk.

About the Training

In developing an awareness and educational training program to support these and other drivers, we combined our development expertise with the safety awareness leadership from our partner, the Canada Safety Council.
The resulting DFH eLearning course includes 8 tailored modules to help advance job-specific and essential skills for rideshare and delivery industry drivers. The program also includes value-add content from the Government of Canada’s Skills for Success program.

The overriding aim of the course is to help enhance driver skills, safety, confidence, and overall performance. But it covers so much more! You can have a look at the specific DFH modules and topic areas on the DFH information page.

How does it work?

The eLearning is hosted on Bluedrop’s SkillsPass platform. SkillsPass is an accessible online workforce training platform that allows workers to access training anytime, from any device, and at a pace that works for them. As an employer, you’re able to create your own account, assign the training to your drivers, and easily track progress and certificates attained.

To get started, prospective learners will enter the platform via a website link made available by their employer or through the DFH training website. From here, they will be prompted to create a quick and easy account on SkillsPass using a personal email address, plus first and last name. Then the learner will be able to engage with the training at their own pace, for up to two weeks after starting.
Once the training is successfully completed, the learner will receive their digital completion certificate which will be stored and always accessible for viewing, printing, or sharing with employers via their account and unique SkillsPass Wallet. It’s that simple.

You have questions…

You’re likely wondering a few things about DFH—like who’s paying for it? When is it rolling out? How is this different from regular driver training for license purposes? Let me answer those here:
Who’s paying for it?: There is no cost to employers or drivers for the training during the rollout phase (until March 31, 2024) as it is fully funded by the Government of Canada’s Skills for Success Program during this time.
When is it rolling out?: DFH training will be available in early July 2023 and will be immediately deployed to employers and drivers that have pre-registered.
How is this different from regular driver training?: DFH training compliments standard driver training and licensing. It will support driver readiness and offer safety and customer service upskilling for those drivers working for companies that require the transport of people/product and interaction with customers and the public.
You may even have some more questions as you consider this training for yourself or your company’s drivers. You can scan the full list of FAQs on the DFH information page, and submit a question or two if you have something that’s not covered there. You can also subscribe for updates and pre-register your drivers too, to get connected with a customer success agent who will set you up with easy and immediate online access to the training.

What’s next?… Get Registered!

Employers of delivery, passenger, rideshare, taxi, and any other gig economy drivers can pre-register NOW for easy access to Driver for Hire Online Training when it goes live in July 2023.
Pre-registering connects you with a member of our adoption team, who will guide you on setting up a unique online account for you and your team. This provides you with:
Immediate access to the training when it goes live;
The ability to assign the training to all your drivers;
The ability to track training progress, completions, and certificates achieved, and more!
Don’t miss your chance to be a leader in safety for the benefit of yourself, your organization, and your industry! We can’t wait to start delivering the goods with Driver for Hire Online Training!

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