The Ministry of Public Works has drafted a Royal Decree to comply with the recent changes in the European Parliament and Council Directive 2003/59, now known as 2018/645, in order to align with EU regulations. The proposed Royal Decree will affect truck and bus drivers in Spain, who will now be required to obtain both theoretical and practical training for the Certificate of Professional Competence (CAP) upon obtaining it for the first time or renewing it. Additionally, drivers of vehicles with private complementary transport authorization will be exempt from holding the CAP certification. The renewal CAP course will be composed of a 21-hour common module and optional modules for subjects such as road safety, hazardous materials transportation, and education that together comprise 35 hours of training. Students who have completed sector-specific courses in the previous 12 months may receive partial credit towards the renewal course. The proposed Royal Decree also permits certain CAP initial training courses to be conducted through online distance learning. Finally, training centers will have to install a biometric attendance verification system to ensure proper attendance tracking.
