News from Reading Buses: With skilled engineers in short supply, Reading Buses has taken the decision to continue to grow their own.
The Great Knollys Street workshop has increased its Guided Apprenticeship Scheme to four with the employment of Toby Driver and Ryan Hunt.
Driver, 17, of Woodley, will increase Reading Buses electrical capability, while Hunt, of Tilehurst – 18 on the day he started on 4 August – will follow a different apprenticeship path.
Chief Engineer John Bickerton explains, “Ryan will be working mainly in our stores and supply department as a trainee parts person.
“He will be studying an NVQ in Business Administration rather than the traditional mechanical engineering.
“With skilled engineers in short supply, we have a very healthy apprenticeship programme which is all about growing the skills internally.”
He added the philosophy was adopted from the training of bus drivers were given to build the customer service experience through Reading Buses own brand that had become its standard approach.
“We are doing the same with apprentices,” said Bickerton. “Our policy is to grow the right skills and the right approach that we want at Reading Buses.
“I am choosing to tailor the apprenticeships to fill gaps in our own skills which I can see coming up in the next five years. Toby and Ryan fit that very well.”
