Kick-starting their careers

In the second instalment, individuals on the graduate schemes of various operators talk to Jade Smith about their journey so far, having started on the courses late last year

Rose Hardy-Barrett, First Bus

I am Rose Hardy-Barrett, I am doing the Finance Management Scheme with First Bus and I am 22 years old.

I studied a Business (Finance) HND and a Business Degree at the University of Kent. I have not had any previous experience working within this industry, but I have worked in various restaurants since the age of 14.

I found out about the scheme on a website that promoted graduate schemes. The application process tested a range of abilities and I really enjoyed the assessment centre. The company set themselves apart from competitors by gathering everyone the evening before the assessment centre for a meal with the directors, who are also the assessors. This made all the candidates feel really welcome and more at ease.

There were approximately 600 applicants for the finance course. There were six candidates at our assessment centre, three of whom were successful in receiving a job offer. The process involved an online application, online numerical and literacy tests, an online video interview and then a one-day assessment centre.

I started in September last year. The first week was in Swindon and London, where all the graduates met for a general introduction to the company. I then started my first placement in Aberdeen where I have been completing a mixture of tasks, such as tax computation, accounts receivable analysis, and checking the interim financial statements of the company.
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[/wlm_nonmember] [wlm_ismember] I am starting a new task involving the company’s statutory accounts which are sent to HMRC. I also have ongoing work including competitor analysis and the monthly accounts receivable report.

My mentor is the Finance Director for FirstGroup’s TransPennine Express rail franchise. I also have a buddy who is a graduate from last year’s intake. On top of this, my line managers and other colleagues continuously offer support whenever it is needed.

I really enjoy being able to study for the CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) qualification alongside working. It allows me to gain further knowledge of the job I am doing. I have also really enjoyed the tax work that I have been involved with.

Getting the balance right between studying, working and my personal life is a challenge. A bigger challenge has been acclimatising to the temperature in Aberdeen!

I am looking forward to every single day on the job. Each week I have different tasks to keep me busy. There is huge variety in what I do and I look forward to learning as much as I can about the company and the role the finance department plays in bus and rail operations.

Andrew Chambers, First Bus

I am Andrew Chambers, a Mechanical Engineering Graduate working for First Bus as an Engineering Management Graduate. I am 21 years old.

I graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southampton. While at university, I worked part-time in a local convenience store as a baker and I previously worked in a local pub as a chef. My engineering interests stem from work experience at Heathrow Airport and from my hobbies, including model engineering.

I found the scheme through the FirstGroup website as I already had a keen interest in the transport industry. The application process was tough and thorough. I felt the assessment centre really encouraged all candidates to perform at their best.

For Engineering, there were around 350 initial applications, which were whittled down through online testing to a top 80 for video interviews and a top eight for the assessment centre.

I started the scheme in September last year in Southampton. Given that graduates enter the scheme fresh from the world of university, it is important to build a good rapport with fitters and managers on the frontline delivering a service. I started in the depot repairing and maintaining buses, almost like an apprentice, to gain a good understanding of the job. The experience gave me a fantastic insight into the challenge of keeping buses on the road and also allowed me to appreciate the vast experience and skills of our engineers.

I am coming to the end of my placement in the depot and working with the mechanics to service and repair vehicles with mechanical issues. I will next be moving onto supervisory training and will spend time with central engineering teams, including technical investigations and fleet support.

Whilst you are in control of the path you take through the scheme, you have the support of previous graduates, the graduate team, from your line managers and in engineering from your Chartered IMechE mentor. They are available to guide you through the scheme and offer their experience, having either been through the scheme or having managed other graduates in the past.

I have enjoyed my time in the depots the most. Coming from a university background, my operations experience had been limited, so working with, and learning from, experienced colleagues has been a real eye-opener and broadened my knowledge of the physical challenges in engineering. I enjoy the buzz of working in an operations engineering environment, where no two days are ever the same and you never know what challenge lies around the corner. Completing a difficult job well and contributing to keeping another vehicle safely on the road is one of the most satisfying aspects of working in engineering.

I thought that my colleagues may have been apprehensive towards graduates who have come straight into the business, at a management level, with limited experience of the bus industry. However, the business helped me meet this challenge head on by working in our depots from the start of the program. My colleagues have been very welcoming upon seeing my interest and enthusiasm, and they have been very keen to pass on their own experience of working with vehicles and managing individual personalities.

I have a great deal to look forward to, including technical and design placements, and working with other departments in the business, including the central engineering teams, commercial colleagues and our financial division.

Ben Callaghan, Arriva

I am Ben Callaghan, an Operations Graduate with Arriva Midlands and 23 years old.

I have a BA in Political Science from the University of Birmingham and MA in European Politics and Policy from the University of Manchester.

I saw the scheme advertised by my university careers centre. The application process consisted of an online application, literacy and numeracy tests, a telephone interview, an assessment centre and a final interview.

The telephone interview and tests determined who would attend the assessment centre. The assessment centre consisted of a group exercise and an individual presentation. In the afternoon, we were interviewed by members of the senior management. Successful applicants were then invited for a final interview.

For Arriva UK Bus there were approximately 400 applicants. There were around 18 people who were taken on spreading across Operations, Engineering, Financial and Commercial.

I am currently in the driving school where I am studying for my PCV licence.

I have received support from both the management team and bus drivers at my current depot. I’ve also been able to get support from both former and current graduates within the company.

My favourite aspect had been doing the early shift in the traffic office (0500hrs start). It’s great to see how the run-out is conducted every morning and the number of different challenges that emerge throughout the day.

The greatest challenge has been coming into an industry in which I have very little experience and knowledge. There’s a lot to learn, but I get the support from everyone in the depot to help me understand it.

I am looking forward to passing my PCV driving test and then driving in service for a period of time. I feel this will greatly enhance my understanding of the bus industry.

Peter Matthews, National Express

My name is Peter Matthews and I’m 22 years old. I’m one of the 2017 National Express Graduate Trainees.

At school, I always loved studying foreign languages and so, following my International Baccalaureate Diploma, I decided to study French, Spanish and Italian at Durham University. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Durham and one of the great advantages was that as part of my degree, I got to spend my third year abroad in France and Italy. Working in the hospitality sector gave me the opportunity not only to improve my written and spoken language ability, but to gain vital business acumen and customer service skills.

For my fourth year, I returned to Durham and I was proud to graduate with a First Class Honours in June 2017. Aside from my degree and interest in languages, I knew that I wanted to work within the transport industry. The great advantage of the National Express program was that it was open to graduates with any degree discipline, and that language ability would be useful and valued within NX.

I’ve always had an interest in the transport sector and I’d heard previously about the fantastic graduate scheme offered by National Express. I started the application process during my Christmas vacation and I found the whole application process fair and easy to follow, without being too time-consuming. I particularly liked that National Express used an assessment day and then a final round interview to really get to know us. I remember the warm welcome to the assessment day and interview really putting me at ease and I particularly liked the immediacy of the response: I was offered the job on the afternoon of my interview which I was delighted to accept.

From what I can remember, shortlisting at the first stage was mostly on the basis of individuals’ CVs and response to sector- specific questions. The first assessment day involved an interesting mix of group activities and individual presentations and discussion. The interview day a week later involved a final individual tailored interview and verbal/numerical reasoning testing. I believe there were around 800 candidates for the four 2017 places, making me especially proud to have been accepted onto the scheme.

I started on the scheme on September 11, 2017, with the first couple of weeks spent meeting key individuals across the business to get real business knowledge and insight. The second week offered an amazing opportunity to sample the National Express network through a three-day road trip with the other graduates. This enabled us to get to know each other and visit key sites, such as Cardiff Sophia Gardens, Victoria Coach Station, Sipson Road and Birmingham Central.

Currently, I’ve just finished my first three-month placement at Birmingham Coach Station. It has been a fantastic opportunity to gain knowledge and insight into the workings of a coach station, improving my knowledge not only of the National Express coach network and services, but also of our customers, customer service and experience, operational challenges and problem solving, not to mention safety. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed organising a Driver “Thank You” day and filling key roles across the coach station, such as the Information Desk and the Operations Hub.

The support received from across the business so far has been second-to-none: regular meetings with an assigned placement mentor, learning and development team mentor, senior mentor and a graduate mentor. Having a graduate mentor (one of last year’s cohort of graduates) is particularly useful as a point of reference, as they have worked on similar placements during their scheme.

I absolutely love working within the transport sector at last and improving my knowledge of our business. Speaking to drivers, passengers and managers alike, the strength and history of the brand is really strong, along with the pride people feel when coming to work. I have particularly enjoyed working during the busy period over Christmas and the New Year and seeing the festive rush. Working within a coach station is particularly satisfying when customers are really appreciative of the extra steps you’ve taken to ensure a good customer experience and when any operational difficulties are resolved. I particularly enjoy using and sampling our network regularly to get valuable insight into our services, brand and delivery. The National Express Network trip to Madrid offered a brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable opportunity to not only meet other graduates from across the business and learn more about ALSA (a Spanish subsidiary of National Express) but also to share ideas, challenges and best practice.

The greatest challenge has probably been juggling and dealing with delayed services due to inclement weather or traffic congestion on days when there is unavoidable disruption such as the Birmingham Half Marathon, and the bout of snow before Christmas. What ensures swift problem resolution is the fantastic team dynamic across National Express, the team at Birmingham Coach Station pulling together and doing their best to get customers to where they need to be, which is extremely rewarding to be a part of.

I’m particularly excited to start my next placement within the Business Development team, as working within a coach station has given me a lot of ideas and suggestions about how to further improve our business and increase customer satisfaction that I’d love to suggest and implement.

Gaining my PCV licence has always been a long-held ambition, along with moving through key areas within National Express to further improve my business knowledge and acumen, to hopefully progress to a more senior position within the industry in the future. I’m delighted that the National Express graduate programme has given me the career opening I always dreamed of, the chance to use my knowledge about and interest in public transport to be of benefit to the group and passengers alike.

Sheridan Rogers, National Express

My name is Sheridan Rogers, I am originally from Solihull and graduated from Brunel University in 2014 with a 2:1 in English. I then worked within the car leasing industry, specialising in Accident Management, before applying for the 2017 National Express Graduate Management Trainee Scheme.

There were 800 applicants for four places. After submitting my online application form I was lucky enough to be invited for an interview which was held at offices in Birmingham. I then attended the assessment day which consisted of a written assessment, a group exercise, an individual presentation and an interview with two previous graduates. Although this was a challenging day, I actually enjoyed this part of the process.

When I got the news that I was through to the final stage I was very excited. The last stage involved a final interview and a Maths and English test, which I found the most challenging part of the selection process.

I joined the company on September 11, 2017 and spent time on an induction programme visiting sites across the West Midlands before myself and the other graduates began our first placements.

Currently I am based at Sipson Road depot near Heathrow where a large number of National Express’ airport services are housed. My posting here has provided great exposure to the operational challenges within the company. I have also been given my own project to develop a plan to manage tri-axle coach tail swings.

We have a fantastic support network within the graduate scheme that includes a line manager for each placement, a senior mentor, a graduate mentor and support from the Learning and Development team.

My favourite part of the scheme so far has been meeting our international colleagues in Madrid for the international National Express Network conference during which we had the excellent opportunity to meet our colleagues from both Spain and North America.

This was a fantastic learning experience as I gained further understanding of some of the problems we all share, and also some of the unique challenges faced by each company within the group. I also got the chance to visit ALSA to see how it operates.
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