More than 100 new bus drivers are set to be created in the North East to help safeguard vital services thanks to a new training programme which launches this month.
Training provider Realise has been awarded a 12-month contract to deliver its Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) Route to Success programme.
More than 300 people will take part in the training in total, of which 120 will be trained by Realise to secure their PCV licence. The remaining participants will be supported to secure interviews with local bus operators across the North East, with successful candidates progressing to PCV licence training through the operators’ own driver training schools.
The training is fully funded by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness' new £250m North East Skills Programme and is therefore free of charge to access for residents of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, County Durham, Gateshead, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland who are aged 19 and over and hold a standard UK car driving licence.
There is a significant bus driver shortage across the UK, with an estimated shortfall of 4,000 drivers. A public consultation has recently closed on a major plan led by Mayor Kim McGuinness to introduce bus franchising in the North East from 2029.
Anyone completing the Route to Success course could secure a PCV licence within six weeks of starting the programme. Every participant will be supported to secure an interview with an operator and progress towards a career in the industry.
The Route to Success programme has already been successfully rolled out in a host of other areas, including West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “Bus drivers keep our region moving. That's why we've funded support so more than 100 people get the skills they need to become a bus driver, helping us improve our bus services right across the North East and ensuring people have good jobs at the same time."
The Route to Success programme is split into two phases. Stage one is a four-day course designed to offer an insight into what life as a bus driver entails, covering the fundamentals and challenging common misconceptions of the profession.
Of the 360 learners scheduled to complete stage one, 120 will then move forward to stage two of the Realise programme undertaking on-road practical training to secure their PCV licence before being supported to secure employment with either a large or SME bus operator.
Those who don’t move forward on the Route to Success programme may go on to join an operators’ own driver training programme, helping to grow the overall pipeline of new drivers entering the sector in the North East.
Amongst the operators supporting the Route to Success programme are Stagecoach, Arriva, Go North East, L&G Coaches and Caledonian Travel.
Realise Director of Transport Kairon Flowers added: “The Route to Success programme has been hugely successful across multiple areas of England and we are delighted to be creating life-changing career opportunities for local residents, as well as protecting vital bus services, in the North East.
“There is an ongoing need to recruit new drivers across the country and programmes like Route to Success can play an important role in helping regions build a sustainable pipeline of new talent.
“With the prospect of franchising being implemented in the North East in the next few years, having that strong pipeline of skilled drivers will be increasingly important as the region looks to develop and improve its bus network.
“This programme gives us an opportunity for to build that pipeline while helping local people take their first steps towards a rewarding new career in the bus industry.”
The programme is open to people who are currently unemployed, as well as those who are already in work and earning less than £32,000 per year.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about, or applying for, the Route to Success programme should visit https://realisetraining.com/
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