Bus driving experience to take place in Greater Manchester- with a job interview guaranteed at the end of it

The home of Rochdale FC in Greater Manchester is set to host a bus driver career experience day this week. The event is being held to mark the launch of a new training programme. 

People who sign up for the day will have the chance to drive a bus under the guidance of a qualified trainer, take part in a virtual reality session and learn more about the new Route to Success scheme.

Delivered on behalf of Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) as part of the city-region’s Skills Bootcamps programme, Route to Success will create more than 100 new bus drivers to help protect services and routes across the Greater Manchester region.

Kairon Flowers, Operations Director at Realise, said: “This bus driver experience day is a flagship event in our Skills Bootcamp Route to Success programme in Greater Manchester.

“People who come down to Rochdale Football Club will spend an hour learning what life as a bus driver entails, as well as having the chance to drive a bus in a controlled environment and learn more about the training course.

“For people seeking a new challenge and thinking bus driving may be an option they are keen to pursue, it’s an ideal snapshot into what a career in the industry may look like.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “Not only are our Skills Bootcamps free, flexible and accessible to residents but they provide them with the skills they need to change or advance in their careers, reducing the need for employers to look elsewhere for talent.

“Training is carefully designed to plug skills gaps businesses desperately need and, in this case, the learning offered also supports our city-region ambitions of creating a fit-for-purpose bus network.

“Although we’re well on the way to achieving this through the Bee Network and bringing buses back under local control, we also need more people to come forward to provide a frequent and reliable service, which serves our millions of visitors and residents.”

Any individual aged over 19 and with a full UK driving licence can attend the engagement day and people can sign up on Eventbrite. The day will run from 10am to 4pm at Rochdale Football Club’s Crown Oil Arena.