Our fast-track career development programme StepUp has kick-started many successful careers recently, including: 

from bus driver to our Operational Control Centre team.

from bus driver to Duty Manager and now part of our Operational Control Centre team 

from bus driver to Operational Control Centre supervisor 

from bus driver to Duty Manager and now Service Delivery Manager in Blackburn 

from bus driver to Leading Driver and now Service Delivery Manager at Coastliner in York and Malton 

 

Our StepUp fast-track career development programme allows our people with potential to see life in other departments or locations beyond their comfort zone. Those chosen for StepUp learn practical skills on the job, and are also enrolled on a Level 3 Management, or relevant role specific, apprenticeship programme to further enhance their skills with a formal qualification.  

Through this experience, those who complete the StepUp programme gain a fresh perspective and enjoy a range of different experiences to ensure they flourish in their future management role. 

We invite applications from within our teams to join StepUp each year, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to develop their career and realise their ambitions with us. 

Launched in October 2023, SkillUp is our pioneering joint initiative to tackle the UK’s shortage of expert engineers by attracting newcomers and career switchers into the workshops. 

Created with Total People, one of the North’s leading apprenticeships providers, SkillUp’s mission is to give more of our people, including those switching from other roles, the industry standard qualification they need to build a successful career in our workshops. 

Our new engineers are leading our drive towards electric power, by gaining specialist knowledge needed to maintain the latest battery-powered buses. 

 

SkillUp is also offering semi-skilled people who already have workshop experience the opportunity to complete a fast-track one year course to boost their knowledge and skills. 

 

Success stories so far include: 

Burnley Engineering Manager Mike Toner - trained for a Level 3 NVQ engineering qualification 

Coastliner based Engineer Andrew Fleming - trained for a Level 3 NVQ in mechanical and electrical engineering 

Harrogate based Engineer Owen Baxter - the first in Yorkshire to complete our three-year engineering apprenticeship, Owen was named as Apprentice of the Year in 2022’s Harrogate Advertiser Excellence in Business Awards and now holds now holds the industry-recognised Bus and Coach Engineering Technician Standard qualification 

 

But don’t just take our word for it – let’s hear from our three rising stars of the workshop! 

“SkillUp is a brilliant chance to gain a qualification that’s in demand, and as I go through the course I’m able to put what I’ve learned into practice while sharing the knowledge I’m picking up” - Michael Toner 

“My interest in engineering began with repairing old classic motorcycles and cars … I always did well at exams so initially chose an academic career, but as time went by I was still fascinated by mechanicals and when I found out about SkillUp, I just knew it was for me” – Andrew Fleming 

“Gaining the ability to look at something that doesn’t work, find the cause, and then fix it, is what attracted me to this. I learn something new every day from my colleagues in the workshop and through experience – and the feeling of achievement when you return a bus to the road takes some beating!” – Owen Baxter