Go-Ahead targets career switchers with commitment to hire 1,100 apprentices in 2022
- Bus and rail company seeks applicants from diverse backgrounds
- Recent joiners include a former professional footballer and bank manager
- Nearly 30% of Go-Ahead’s apprentices are over 50 years old
Go-Ahead has set a target to hire 1,100 bus and rail apprentices in 2022. It is encouraging applicants from all ages and career backgrounds.
The announcement comes in advance of National Apprenticeship Week (7-13 February), a government-led initiative that highlights the positive impact of apprenticeships across the UK.
The group is the biggest provider of apprentice training in the transport industry, hiring 50 apprentice bus drivers per week in London alone in 2021. Last year, Go-Ahead hired 1,030 apprentices in total.
In addition to school leavers, the group takes on apprentices of all ages, including many career switchers who are seeking a new start in transport.
Applicants from diverse backgrounds have surged during the pandemic as economic conditions have changed, and many people have reassessed their lifestyles.
After 15 years in financial management positions, Mitesh Patel started his train driving apprenticeship in 2020. He wanted a better work-life balance than an office environment, when he never felt he could switch off at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, bus driver apprentice Rachael Ayegba switched from professional football to bus driving in 2021. She is believed to be the first female London bus driver to have played in the World Cup.
This success comes during a time in which apprenticeship starts have been falling nationwide. A 2021 government report indicates that apprenticeship starts are at their lowest levels in ten years. There was a 20% drop in apprenticeship starts between 2018/2019 and 2020/2021.
Susanna Dillon, Head of Apprenticeships at Go-Ahead said: “At Go-Ahead, we’ve invested so much time and energy into our award-winning apprenticeship programme – and for good reason. Apprenticeships are vital for helping the communities we serve and for bringing fresh ideas and viewpoints into the transport sector.”
“We’re also seeing real benefits to the programme. We’ve found that since we launched our in-house apprenticeship scheme in London in 2018, we’ve seen a real increase in good service commendations from the public. The scheme has also helped to halve the amount of driving accidents on the road.”
Resignation rates are reaching record numbers in the UK in a time now dubbed ‘the Great Resignation’. A November 2021 report from Randstand indicates that almost a quarter of employees in the UK plan to move jobs within the next three to six months[1].
However, Go-Ahead’s apprenticeship programme reveals the success of the programme at recruiting retaining its apprenticeship talent. Go-Ahead London introduced its first in-house training programme in 2018. Since then, the number of people who have left within two years has fallen from 40% to 13%.
Contact Information
Go-Ahead Communications
Notes to editors
Contact
Sophia Danielsson-Waters / communications@go-ahead.com
More pictures available on request
Source
[1] https://www.randstad.co.uk/about-us/industry-insight/great-resignation/
Case studies
Mitesh Patel worked in management positions for over 15 years – including for a bank, a food manufacturing company and a hospital. He often felt that he was taking his work home with him and constantly checking emails and wanted a completely new challenge.
He started his train driver apprenticeship in the 2020 lockdown – receiving his technical driver training through Zoom and undertaking physical train driving assessments under ever-changing Covid lockdown conditions.
Having worked in the finance department of a hospital at the onset of the first pandemic, Mitesh was keen to help others. During early 2021 he volunteered at Govia Thameslink Railway’s internal Covid-19 testing centre to help keep trains moving.
Based at London Victoria station, when Mitesh finishes his apprenticeship this year he will be covering routes to East Grinstead, Epsom Downs and West Croydon.
Rachael Ayegba is a former professional footballer from Nigeria, who played in the 2007 Women’s World Cup, the 2006 and 2008 African Women’s Championship and played for Finland’s title-winning club PK-35 Vantaa.
Having admired London’s double decker buses during visits to the UK, she applied to become an apprentice driver on retiring from football. She remains a UEFA-qualified football coach, and is a qualified truck driver too.
She is currently an apprentice at Go-Ahead London’s Camberwell academy – the biggest apprenticeship training academy in UK transport. She drives route 185, from Lewisham to Victoria.
Koli Begum completed her apprenticeship training in 2021 and is now an apprentice mentor. She originally worked for a charity for disabled children and is the mother of a disabled child. She started the apprenticeship scheme in a joint initiative with Go-Ahead London and Transport for London to bring more women into the business.
Initially Koli worried about her height as she is under 5ft tall. After a quick test in the cab, she was able to train to become a bus driver. She now mentors other apprentices coming into the company, providing advice and support.