Transport with HCT
We recently had the pleasure of organising an employer led Transport session at Lansdown Park Academy and Vinney Green Secure Children’s Home. This work in provisions out of Bristol has been funded through the Careers and Enterprise Company & The West of England Combined Authority.
Both sessions were led by Belinda from HCT transport Group, who is an experienced Bus Driver. The purpose for the session was to help learners understand the roles, responsibilities and career pathway of a bus driver. Belinda arrived in a mini-bus to allow students to engage in a walk round tour, take part in safety checks and learn how the bus works.The learners demonstrated excellent engagement throughout the activity. This enabled them to learn what the job involves and have a go for themselves. The learners had lots of fun testing the ramp to allow for disabled passengers, completing safety checks including checking wheel nuts and most importantly checking the horn and radio! One learner was especially keen to start as a bus driver:
“I can see my-self doing this you know; I would love to drive the bus”
Throughout the session the learners asked lots of questions to find out what training is involved and help them understand the career pathway for a bus driver. They also listened well and answered questions with confidence and respect.
The learners demonstrated a variety of employability skills including communication when engaging in discussions with Belinda, teamwork when encouraging their peers to engage and organisation skills when completing safety checks.
The learners really enjoyed learning how to drive the bus and what all the different buttons do, they were especially impressed with the ‘disco lights’ to turn it into a party bus! Some learners felt inspired to get a driving job in the future and they found it useful talking to Belinda about her personal experiences of being a bus driver. One student mentioned:
“I found it interesting, it has made me want to get a job driving a van”
It was excellent to hear the excitement in the student’s voice that they had found something they would be interested in doing after school.
Belinda has informed the learners that there’s lots of opportunities in bus driving as there is a current shortage of drivers. The learners felt inspired and motivated that there are opportunities available to them. A couple of learners explained how this session helped them: “This showed me that even the jobs that you wouldn’t think of choosing are very interesting”
“This has been a real eye opener for me and I’m sure it will be for other students at other schools as well”
Overall, both sessions were a success due to the knowledge and experiences the learners gained. We would like to pass on a big thankyou to Belinda for delivering an excellent experience for the learners at Lansdown Park Academy and Vinney Green.
