Businesses have been urged to insist that their fleet managers have formal qualifications to carry out the role.

In addition to training becoming a formal requirement for fleet managers, suppliers should also ensure staff have formal qualifications to show they can effectively deal with their customers’ requirements, according to Roddy Graham, chairman of the Institute of Car Fleet Management.

He made the call during the organisation’s fifteenth annual conference last week, telling delegates.

“If you cannot get a job these days in procurement without holding relevant qualifications why should you be able to get one in fleet management without relevant qualifications?

“It does not make sense, especially when the person with overall responsibility is usually in charge of one of the largest assets within an organisation.

“My ultimate vision is to ensure that all individuals with fleet responsibility, either managing a fleet or working within a fleet supplier, have been trained by the ICFM and gained ICFM qualification.

"Hand in hand with this objective we need to reach a position where all job advertisements involving a fleet remit, either managing a fleet or working within a fleet supplier, specify the individual should hold an ICFM qualification.”

“Fleet management is a profession. What we should be looking for is a properly trained and qualified fleet industry.”

The Institute of Car Fleet Management is an independent ‘not for profit’ organisation that furthers education of car fleet managers.