Go-Ahead’s target includes 700 trainee London bus drivers and 220 rail apprentices over the year
The Go-Ahead Group, which already has a large apprenticeship programme, has set a target of hiring 1,020 apprentices in 2023 to train as bus drivers, train drivers and engineers.
The intake will include 700 apprentice bus drivers for Go-Ahead London, which runs around a quarter of the capital’s buses for Transport for London. Some 220 apprentice engineers and train drivers will be recruited by its Govia Thameslink Railway franchise operation, which operates Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express rail services, and a further 100 apprentices will work at Go-Ahead’s regional bus companies and in head office roles in London and Newcastle.
Go-Ahead was named as one of the UK’s top 20 apprentice employers recently in a ranking developed by the Department for Education, and as the top provider in the transport industry. The Group’s apprenticeship intake is also helping with its aims to diversify its workforce, with 61% of apprentices recruited in 2022 from ethnic backgrounds other than White British, including 78% of those who joined Go-Ahead’s London bus operation. 32% of new apprentices were aged over 40, including many career switchers who are seeking a new start in transport.
In its bus operations, Go-Ahead London believes its Camberwell training academy is the largest in-house provider of bus driving apprenticeships in the UK and recently celebrated its fifth birthday. The academy uses virtual reality technology to teach driving skills, and trainees alternate over the course of a year between periods of driving buses and time in the classroom. In 2022, 77% of those who started the course completed their apprenticeship and gained a qualification.
Since the training programme was introduced in 2018, the operator says it has been able to deliver all aspects of training to its apprentices including offering numeracy and literacy training equivalent to maths and English GCSEs, with additional support available to those with a range of neurodiverse conditions.
Go-Ahead Group’s HR Director Scott Maynard said: “We’re proud to be training a new generation of drivers and engineers at Go-Ahead. Apprentices are fundamental to the future of our business and of our industry as a whole – and providing on-the-job learning has helped us to attract people from all walks of life.
“We want our workforce and the transport industry to reflect the communities we serve. Our apprenticeships programme is forever expanding, and the vast majority of our apprentices continue their careers with Go-Ahead after their training is completed.”
