STAGECOACH GROUP PLC 15 Oct 2014
• Group of young people to benefit from Stagecoach apprenticeships
• Prince's Trust initiative helping to deliver new career prospects
Stagecoach has employed a group of new apprentices at its UK Bus division through a partnership initiative with The Prince's Trust.
Up to seven young people are to benefit from the Stagecoach bus engineering apprentice scheme, with five already having taken up their posts in the west of Scotland.
The four-year apprenticeships will set the group up for a future career in the bus industry as engineers with Stagecoach.
The five current new recruits were recently welcomed to the company by Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths.
The group, who were previously unemployed, were offered apprenticeships after taking part in The Prince's Trust 'Get into' programme, which involved a three-week training period at GTG Training in Glasgow where they covered areas such as mechanical and electrical engineering, body repair, general maintenance, health and safety and employability skills. Seven of the young people then attended 10 days of work experience with Stagecoach West Scotland.
At a celebration day in Glasgow to mark the end of the project in September, Stagecoach announced it was offering apprenticeships to all of the employees who undertook work experience with the company.
Five of the group - Garry Thomson (23), Jordon Tennant (20), Regan Smith (16), Declan Jack (18) and Michael Alcroft (20) - have already started their apprenticeships, based at Kilmarnock, Ayr, Ardrossan and Glasgow depots at Stagecoach West Scotland.
Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths said: "I am absolutely delighted to welcome our new apprentices into the company. We offer one of the best apprenticeship schemes in the bus industry and we hope it will be the start of a rewarding new career for this group of employees.
"The Prince's Trust makes a huge difference to people who may have been through some tough times earlier in life and we are proud to join the important work they do to help give people opportunities for a better future."
Daljit Singh, Head of Private Sector Relationships for The Prince's Trust in Scotland said: "The Prince's Trust is delighted to help young people 'Get into Bus Engineering' with a fantastic package of training and work experience. Thanks to our work with Stagecoach we have been able to give even more young people the chance to reach their full potential.
"Our 'Get into' programme brings together employers and The Prince's Trust to offer courses in everything from cooking to security. We would love to hear from any young person who wants to find out what opportunities we can offer to help them get a job, an education or start their own business."
The Stagecoach apprentice scheme is widely recognised as one of the most comprehensive in the bus industry. Apprentices spend three years working at local depots and attending college on block release and Stagecoach is the only UK bus company to offer an Apprentice Plus Programme in the fourth year of the programme which is certificated by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI). Stagecoach currently employs 168 apprentices across its UK Bus operations.
For further information on Stagecoach UK Bus visit www.stagecoachbus.com
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact: Stagecoach Group Communications on 01738 442111 or email: media@stagecoachgroup.com
Notes to Editors:
Photo caption - Photo shows Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths (left) and Daljit Singh from The Prince's Trust with the new Stagecoach apprentices.
Stagecoach Group
• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The Group employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.
• Stagecoach is one of UK's biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,000 buses and coaches. Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach's buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The Group's business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates between more than 100 towns and cities across the UK and mainland Europe.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast inter-city rail franchise.
• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,900 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter and transit services, contracted bus services, charters, sightseeing tours and a small number of school bus services.
About The Prince's Trust
Youth charity The Prince's Trust helps disadvantaged young people to get their lives on track. It supports 13 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Prince's Trust are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or they have been in trouble with the law. The Trust's programmes give vulnerable young people the practical and financial support needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by The Prince's Trust move into work, education or training. The Prince of Wales's charity has helped 750,000 young people since 1976 and supports over 100 more each day. Further information about The Prince's Trust is available at princes-trust.org.uk/Scotland or on 0141 204 4409.
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