Learning and Development

We want people to develop themselves whilst they work for us - for their benefit and for ours.

All employees have access to development programmes which generally lead to recognised vocational qualifications. This year we increased the number of people completing Passenger Carrying Vehicle S/NVQs by 40%.

In North America we participate in the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) programme for training and testing technicians. We reward those employees who sign up to the scheme and successfully pass a skill certification test.

All our drivers across the UK and North America are trained using the Smith System Defensive Driving Training, an industry-leading programme focusing on the development of safe, anticipatory driving techniques. Drivers and customer-facing staff across the business also receive training in many related topics such as safety, identifying and handling security risks, customer service, conflict avoidance and supporting passengers with special needs.

This year we have put particular emphasis on improving our management development programmes. We have created competency frameworks for key roles across the business. In the UK we launched a new online training portal for all staff to improve access to training modules.

This year we introduced 65 new engineering apprentices to the UK business. A further 100 apprentices have been put through the new driver apprenticeship scheme developed with Transport for London and Go-Skills. The scheme will be extended to Yorkshire this year.

* First Student only introduced the scheme in 2007.
** The drop in number of ASE certificates between 07/08 and 08/09 resulted from the Laidlaw acquisition where fewer employees were certified.

Lifelong learning

In the UK our dedicated learning centres are pivotal in our development provision. Through the learning centres, employees can access a wide range of learning programmes at times which suit their individual needs.

We currently have over 60 learning centres around the UK staffed by Trade Union Learning Representatives (TULRs) and Project Workers. The TULRs raise the profile of workplace training and encourage employees who want to review and expand their skills.

85% of UK Bus employees continue to have access to learning centres. Our new online training portal has increased access for those with computers and we continue to work towards ensuring that 100% of UK Bus employees have access to lifelong learning by 2012.

Skills for life

As signatories of the UK Government's Skills Pledge we are committed to supporting our employees develop their basic skills including literacy and numeracy.

Through our learning centres all employees have the opportunity to develop their numeracy and literacy skills using a specially developed online tool.

At any one time around 1,000 employees are working towards national numeracy and literacy standards. A further 600 people completed these qualifications this year. In addition, 200 more people completed English as a Foreign Language courses.

We also promote literacy development through our short story competition which has now become an annual event generating more than 500 entries each year.