First Bus and Unite the Union push people-focused partnership to the next level
- Ground-breaking new learning agreement provides new education opportunities
- Significant investment sees creation of six new learning centre hubs
- Around 10,000 frontline colleagues will have new learning modules at their fingertips to supercharge their careers
First Bus and its trade union partner, Unite the Union, have reached a ground-breaking new learning agreement to improve opportunities for frontline colleagues across the business.
Born out of the National Joint Consultative Forum (NJCF), this new partnership sees a significant investment from First Bus, creating six learning centre hubs for its frontline colleagues across its UK operations.
A further six satellite sites will also be created to ensure every frontline colleague has access to a learning centre.
Both vocational and non-vocational modules will be available to all colleagues alongside support from a trained and full-time Trade Union Learning Representative in each location.
The learning centres will offer all frontline colleagues a dedicated facility that puts continual learning opportunities outside of their day-to-day skillset at the forefront, equipping them with new skills to drive forward their careers and better support First Bus customers.
The move represents another significant milestone for the bus operator to support the ongoing development of its frontline colleagues and make First Bus a great place to be, work and grow.
Janette Bell, Managing Director for First Bus, said: “This is an important investment as we continue our business transformation. The new learning agreement builds on the strong foundations of an ongoing education partnership with Unite the Union that has spanned over 23 years.
“We are putting our people and customers at the heart of everything we do, and this latest step will be vital in creating a better environment for our frontline colleagues to support and encourage continuous learning and breakdown the barriers to opportunity.
“Working in the bus industry is a great career choice, and creating these new learning centres means the opportunities to develop for our frontline colleagues are endless.”
Scott Higgins, National Unite First Bus Chair, said: “The signing of this new agreement and the evolution of our learning partnership is unique within our industry. It is an exciting opportunity for our members to learn and develop new skills through both vocational and non-vocational activities.
“The modernisation plans and the benefits from the continued investment by our employer into this joint venture will be truly welcomed by all frontline colleagues moving forward.”
For more information on career opportunities at First Bus, click here Careers | First Bus
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Notes to editors
About First Bus
At First Bus, we are on a mission to grow bus usage. We will get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto buses. We’re one of the UK’s largest bus operators, delivering over a million passenger journeys every week for the communities we serve. Transforming our business for the better, we’re putting our people and customers at the heart of all we do.
We’re all about making journeys easier for our customers, which is why we were the first national bus operator to roll out Tap On, Tap Off payment technology across our entire UK fleet of 4500 buses. Our First Bus app has also been voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators. First Bus is committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. Approximately 15% of our fleet now comprises of Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs).
We’re passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we’re helping local businesses progress their own decarbonisation journeys with access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions, York Pullman Bus Company and Ensignbus. First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
Find more information on First Bus here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/