Copart launches new £1m+ Driver Academy Programme

Global leader in online vehicle remarketing and recycling, Copart UK, today announces the launch of a new Driver Academy Programme to recruit and train the next generation of HGV drivers for its expanding, self-owned, UK wide transportation fleet.  

The company has launched the £1m+ programme in partnership with HGVC, the leading provider of commercial licence acquisition training courses in the UK, to secure the future supply of highly skilled Copart drivers. Directly aligning with Copart’s Plan-Net-Zero-Programme, their formal commitment to becoming a fully sustainable business by achieving net zero emissions, HGVC is the only UK provider to offer carbon neutral training.Supporting the Copart Cares commitment to environmental protection and sustainability, HGVC pledges to plant a tree for every training course undertaken, offsetting any carbon created by the vehicles used during the programme.

The ambitious scheme, which aims to deliver 100 new fully trained drivers in the first year, is part of Copart’s wider expansion plans to continually enhance its vehicle collection and delivery capabilities across the UK, alongside a vehicle investment programme to ensure the ‘greenest fleet on the street’. Currently, Copart operates the largest self-owned fleet in the salvage sector, with more than 250 directly employed specialist drivers and 18 locations strategically positioned throughout the UK.  

With a recent survey by the Road Haulage Association estimating a shortage of more than 100,000 qualified HGV drivers in the UK, Copart’s Driver Academy Programme will not only help counter this skills shortage but will also provide a long-term pipeline of appropriate candidates training to be Copart HGV vehicle movement specialists. In addition to sourcing and training candidates through to HGV licence completion, the HGVC-managed programme offers a network of over 400 quality assured learning centres around the country to ensure drivers stay connected to the most suitable training locations.  

The Copart Driver Academy will be managed through a centralised system, with real-time communication lines which will provide Copart with a wealth of ‘live’ information on the training and progress of all its drivers, as well the ability to source prospective candidates. The programme also offers supporting modules for qualified drivers to help them maintain their periodic CPC training and upskill in various categories, delivered through HGVC’s extensive JAUPT- approved network. 

These modules will include courses on first aid, safer urban driving, records and enforcement, and safe loading, all specifically tailored to the bespoke range of Copart multi-car transporters. The programme will also undertake driver risk assessments, which can provide Copart’s logistics team with crucial online data on driver behaviour patterns and help identify further training module requirements. 

Jane Pocock, Managing Director of Copart UK & Ireland, said: 

“The Copart Driver Academy is focused on ensuring that we continue to provide highly skilled and quality assured drivers across our fleet. 

“Whether it is recovering a vehicle direct from a Policy Holder or delivering one of the hundreds of thousands of vehicles we move a year, we know that having a self–employed, trustworthy, and fully accountable workforce is paramount to delivering world class logistics across the UK.”

Phil Briggs, Director of Operation Centres, Transport and Engineering, added: 

“The Copart Driver Academy programme represents a significant investment into our transport and logistics capabilities and will enable us to select candidates who demonstrate the right attributes to join, and train within, our business without the usual qualification restraints. 

“This exciting new initiative will support our continued growth, despite wider HGV driver market constraints, and we’re looking forward to finding great people to join our business who we can train and develop to ensure that Copart’s ‘Operational Excellence’ is maintained.”

Global vehicle remarketing and recycling company Copart Inc. is creating a new 68-acre UK ‘Super Centre’ in East Anglia, as part of a major expansion programme to meet continued and growing customer demand.

Copart is the largest business within its sector, with the UK division moving more than half a million vehicles a year and handling $1b worth of vehicle assets.

The new Copart Operation Centre on the A143 at Stanton, north of Bury St Edmunds, will now be the largest vehicle storage and processing centre in the UK. There are currently 16 other nationwide sites in strategic locations across the UK.

Today’s news follows a series of similar growth announcements from Copart last year, including a major new customer service centre in Bedford, the quadrupling in size of their Bristol Operation Centre, significant expansion of their owned transport fleet, and the doubling of their operational capabilities in Scotland with a new Operation Centre near Glasgow. 

Bury St Edmunds has been identified by Copart as an ideal location to meet rising demand in the East of England, mirroring large capacity sites in the South East, South West, and North East, and others planned for the Midlands and the North West.

With an increasing number of severe weather events and an ever-changing car parc due to the rise of electric vehicles, this centre will provide further essential latent storage capacity in the region, adding to Copart’s existing network of Super Centres in the UK.

Copart’s UK and Ireland Managing Director, Jane Pocock, said: 

“Demand from our customers continues to rise and it’s fantastic that we invest to future-proof our business, considering the evolving car parc and the increase in extreme weather events. This site enhances our network of Super Centres and improves storage capacity for anticipated growth in recycling, electric, and hydrogen vehicles, as well as helping to accelerate the diversification of our business into green parts handling.

“This investment marks another significant step forward for our UK business and illustrates our ongoing commitment to remaining at the forefront of the industry and continuing to provide market leading services to all our customers.”

“From an environmental point of view, Copart are committed to ensuring sustainability across all  Operation Centres so we will be deploying sustainable building methods and materials with large parts of the building construction undertaken off site and at specialist factories where there is greater control of the process and much less waste.”

In line with Copart’s sustainability strategy ‘Copart Cares’, existing areas of established mature trees and woodland will be retained and will be further strengthened by the planting of native species across 17-acres of the 68-acre site. 

The company also plans to support growth in wildlife, and minimise environmental impact on commuting bats, through the use of bat-boxes and dark sky lighting.

Following a detailed ecology survey that assessed the current biodiversity, it is expected that the development will increase the ecological value of the site by more than 10% above the current level.

 The Bury St Edmunds site is expected to be operational by the end of 2022, subject to standard planning, and will provide between 100 and 120 new jobs. Apprenticeships will also be available.

Copart UK is part of the US-based global Copart business and currently employs around 1,100 people in the UK.

Preparing for a green future: giving the End-of-Life-Vehicle sector the credentials it deserves

Steve Scofield, Head of Business Development at the Institute of the Motor Industry outlines the steps being taken to develop National Occupational Standards for Vehicle Recycling.

With environmental sustainability now front of mind for all parts of society, there is a huge opportunity for those working in the End-of-Life-Vehicle market to go a step further, to demonstrate the high standards applied through all parts of their operations and the role the sector can play in the government’s Decarbonisation plan.  Supporting that vision, the Institute of the Motor Industry, which is the professional body for the automotive sector, is developing National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Vehicle Recycling, specifically focusing on the Vehicle Dismantler role. This includes depollution of the vehicle and the grading of the ‘green’ parts to be re-used. 

Crucially we are shaping these standards in close collaboration with key stakeholders in the sector, including the Vehicle Recyclers Association (VRA) and the British Vehicle Salvage Federation (BVSF). And, recognising the workload pressures for those working in the sector, the standards are being designed to be easy to train for and adopt in bite-sized modules. 

What are National Occupational Standards?

The Institute of the Motor Industry is responsible for setting the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for all sectors of the automotive industry. There are already over 20 NOS in existence for those working in automotive, providing a global benchmark for quality and professionalism.  Adding Vehicle Recycling to the list is an important step in building the professional image of the industry, which will help to grow sales, reduce errors and accidents and increase profits.

NOS are used to help develop qualifications used in apprenticeship frameworks in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland as well as the IMI accreditation scheme for staff across the UK. The standards describe what an individual in a certain role should be able to do and the knowledge and understanding they need. Employers can use them to help design their in-house training, on-the-job coaching or performance management systems. And they provide an important benchmark for employers when it comes to recruitment.

A collaborative process

To ensure that the new NOS for Vehicle Recycling are fit for purpose, the IMI is working closely with employers, industry experts and other relevant stakeholders to feed into the project. We’ve already held a number of Working Groups, with members of the sector invited to provide their expertise. With that input we have now drafted the NOS in three key areas – Vehicle Removal, Vehicle Dismantling and Green Parts Grading -  for sector feedback and we are keen to ensure that we get the widest possible input so that the NOS is fit for purpose for the current and future shape of automotive recycling.

Crucially, the NOS grading that we are creating for the End-of-Life-Vehicle sector is based on the Vehicle Recyclers Association (VRA) standard which is already well established, and well respected in the automotive market as a whole.  Aligning to this existing standard makes complete sense because it’s what the sector already knows.

Preparing for a changing world

The rapid acceleration of electric motoring is particularly important for the End-of-Life-Vehicle sector. Those working on the dismantling of these high voltage vehicles need to understand the very specific risks. The advances in connected and autonomous motoring will also present the sector with new challenges. And, as the spotlight only gets brighter on how all parts of automotive can positively contribute to creating a greener and more sustainable environment, attention will increase significantly on the role of ‘green parts’.  The insurance industry is already working hard to adopt ‘green parts’ in its claims processes so it’s vital that the End-of-Life-Vehicle sector can meet the exacting standards expected.

An industry to be proud of

Certification for vehicle dismantlers, under the new NOS, will therefore provide a real opportunity to show pride in the industry, while at the same time increasing the credibility of the sector. Plus, of course, if those professionals working in the sector have clear standards to operate within, the health and safety record as a whole will be improved.

Currently the job functions being looked at as part of the NOS include: 

• Collect and store vehicle

• Receive and assess vehicle

• Depollute vehicle

• Dismantle vehicle

• Grade parts

• Manage inventory of parts

Throughout the development of the standards, we have aimed to build on existing, proven NOS for other parts of automotive. This includes vehicle collection – based on existing Roadside Recovery NOS – and managing ‘green’ parts inventory – based on Parts Operations NOS. Existing Electric Vehicle NOS are also being used for the Vehicle Recycling sector, to include the dangers of towing an EV, making a vehicle safe and safe storage of high voltage batteries.

This is a tremendously exciting project that will put the End-of-Life-Vehicle sector on a par with the rest of the automotive industry. As such we welcome continued input from everyone involved in the sector.  Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to provide your views.

The UK’s leading integrated salvage, dismantling and recycling company has revealed a £60k investment at its flagship Doncaster site.

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