A training hub designed to create new bus drivers and upskill existing ones has launched in West Yorkshire. Specialist transport training provider Realise opened its Transport Training Academy in Cleckheaton on Monday 31 March. The centre, based at Lodge Grange in Gomersal, will host Realise’s Route to Success programme, a free-to-access training scheme available to members of the general public within West Yorkshire who are seeking a career as a bus driver. The course is funded as part of the Adult Skills Fund investment in the region, meaning there is no cost to the candidate.
More than 600 people have already engaged with the programme since August 2022, Realise reports, with many going on to secure employment with either a large operator or at an SME in West Yorkshire. All of the company’s practical driver training for West Yorkshire will now take place at the Cleckheaton Academy, although stage one of the process, a four-day course designed to allow individuals to determine if bus driving is the career for them, will still take place at multiple locations across the county.
Director of Transport at Realise Kairon Flowers said: “This is a notable landmark in our delivery of Route to Success and other passenger transport training across West Yorkshire. The programme is not only helping to tackle the shortage of bus drivers across West Yorkshire but giving adults a chance to gain the skills and qualifications they need to get straight into jobs which can set them up for a successful career.
“Having a permanent base to deliver our practical training will help us continue the momentum around Route to Success and help people achieve their dream of becoming a bus driver, as well securing bus routes for many years to come.”
As well as the Route to Success initiative, the Academy will also oversee additional training opportunities from the Cleckheaton site. This will include a commercial offering, allowing bus providers to send their drivers for training, as well as the mandatory CPC training all bus drivers must complete to ensure their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence remains valid.
