Male-and-female-employment2012.pdf

CASE STUDY
To address the low number of women employed in the bus industry and tackle recruitment
difficulties, People 1st has developed ‘Step on the Bus’, a bespoke training programme for women.
Step on the Bus aims
The programme aims to help unemployed women find work in the passenger transport industry.
“Step onto the Bus gives women an opportunity to work in an industry they might never have
considered before. They can develop their confidence, learn new skills and find a job they enjoy. The
employers working with us on the programme really want to develop their employees and give them
every opportunity to succeed.”
Kate Deane, Head of Industry Skills, People 1 st
Step on the Bus programme
Step on the Bus is a pre-recruitment programme that gives women four weeks of soft skills and
industry specific training. This includes interview techniques, confidence building, and hazard
perception training and testing. After successfully completing this stage of the programme women
then go on to a work placement that could potentially end in a permanent job within the bus
industry.
The Step on the Bus programme sits alongside the Women 1st training and mentoring programme
that People 1st has developed to support women working in the hospitality, leisure, travel and
tourist services industries.
Step on the Bus results
Since the programme was launched in 2008, 150 women have received tailored training and
mentoring opportunities with senior industry players. To date around 50 percent of them have
found work as a direct result of the programme, although this figure continues to rise. Others go on
to find work outside of the industry or progress to further training.
The programme has support from leading industry employers such as Harrogate and District Travel,
Trent Barton and Easytravel. According to Guy Gibson, head of training at Trent Barton:
“The programme gives women an insight into passenger transport, which is not readily promoted by
schools or career professionals, so they can learn about the bus industry and then make a decision on
whether they want to work in our sector. Such an approach allows for time and cost efficiencies and
ensures that the individuals that start working for us are indeed committed to the job, and are
excited to pursue their career and be part of the awardwinning Trent Barton team.”
Success story – Virginia Floyd
Virginia Floyd was offered a place on the programme by her adviser at Jobcentre Plus. Having been
unemployed for some time, she took up the opportunity to receive the training to become a bus
driver.
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