P&D “Qual Cert” Driver Training Program
Driver recruiting is a challenging part of being a contractor, especially finding candidates who meet FedEx Ground’s requirements. In 2021, FedEx Ground announced a new driver training program and changes to the driver requirements outlined in Schedule I of the ISP Agreement. These changes were made with the goal of improving recruiting efforts and standardizing driver training across the network. The new driver training program and qualifications became a contractual standard across the network in 2022.
Before 2022, drivers had to either have 1 year of driving experience within the past 3 years OR 5 years of experience in the past 10 years. If a driver did not have the required experience, he or she could complete the Entry-Level Driver Training Program (ELDP) or the L10/L20/L30 program to drive with FedEx Ground.
These old qualification methods are no longer applicable and are entirely discontinued from the network. Gone are the driver experience requirements, gone are the ELDP and L10/L20/L30 programs, and gone is First Advantage’s verification of driver experience!
New Driver Qualifications
FedEx Ground’s new mandatory P&D driver training program for all new and existing drivers is called Qualification Certification, or Qual Cert. New and existing drivers need to complete Qual Cert no matter how much experience they have and regardless of any other training programs they have completed. If a driver has a decade worth of driving experience, they are still required to complete the training program.
Step 1: Choose a vendor
Qual Cert requires the use of approved vendors to conduct the initial training of each operation’s certified trainer.
These approved vendors include:
GroundCloud
J.J. Keller
Impact Solutions
Smith Systems
Step 2: Choose a trainer to complete the certified vendor training
After selecting your certified vendor, you’ll need to select a member of your staff, such as a BC or lead driver to complete the training to become your Certified Trainer, or CT. This person will complete a 5-day, in-person training provided by your qualified vendor. This is mandatory for them to become a Certified Trainer.
Once your trainer completes the in-person training, they will be certified to train your drivers on the new Qual Cert program.
The training program includes:
Classroom instruction
Observed behind-the-wheel road time
Online quizzes and evaluations
Road testing
Now is the time to think about who to have as your trainer/trainers. Trainers must be eligible to give road tests. Keep this in mind as you are selecting your trainer, and be sure not to select anyone who has had an accident or made themselves ineligible to do this. We recommend having multiple trainers for contingency purposes to help set your operation up for success.
Additionally, you can also utilize another contractor’s CT. If you or another contractor don’t have the resources and space to train your own CT, you can make a deal with another contractor in your terminal to effectively borrow their CT to train your drivers. In some terminals, a single contractor may opt to have multiple CTs in their operation and offer qualification training to all of the other contractors. This can be particularly relevant to smaller terminals where it doesn’t make financial sense for every contractor in the building to pay for their own CT.
Step 3: Train all new and existing drivers
Remember that all new and existing drivers are required to complete the training. Existing drivers will only have a limited amount of time to be trained.
It isn’t advised to have more than four drivers training at the same time. This small class size presents the challenge of having to pay for training resources, including the trainer’s time and use of the training location.
The on-road portion of training does not have to be done by the Certified Trainer. You can utilize a qualified observer to complete this training portion. A qualified observer is a driver within your organization who has been with FedEx Ground for at least one year and has not had a preventable accident or MVR violation in the last year. However, the certified trainer must be the one to complete and sign off on the drivers’ completion of the 20-mile, 45-minute on-road test portion.
When Do New Qualifications Go Into Effect?
All existing ISP Agreements should require the use of Qual Cert for all driver training. If you happen to purchase a business still operating on a legacy agreement, the new contract will require Qual Cert and the new owner will be expected to comply with all new driver training requirements.
Looking Forward
The Qual Cert program will certainly impact contractors across the country, especially smaller operations, who do not have additional revenue in their budgets to spend on the resources for this training. Thankfully, these contractors can outsource this training to companies such as Bright Flag Recruiting, who is currently offering Qual Cert training as an add-on service to their existing recruiting packages.
Qual Cert is the most significant change to the driver training and recruitment process that FedEx Ground has made in the last decade. While it does require a shift in how you train your drivers, the program offers tremendous benefits to the quality of your team and the effectiveness of your recruiting efforts
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