First Bus announce new partnership with UK's number one digital skills charity
- First Bus announce new partnership iDEA, the UK's no.1 digital skills charity
- The new partnership was launched to mark the end of Learning At Work Week (LAWW)
- The charity has provided access to bite-sized, gamified digital training for frontline colleagues and members of the communities we serve
First Bus is delighted to announce it is establishing a new strategic partnership with iDEA, the UK’s no.1 digital skills charity, to provide bite-sized, gamified digital training to frontline colleagues and members of the communities we serve.
The new partnership, launched as part of the company’s Learning At Work Week (LAAW) programme for 2025, will provide access like never before to resources that will help frontline colleagues build confidence in essential IT skills for both work and life, as well as address skills gaps, enhance engagement, and support career progression and retention.
In addition to this, First Bus will pilot community access to iDEA’s platform at selected learning centres, supporting friends and family learning initiatives, recruitment pipelines, and employment pathways for the wider community.
First Bus is the first UK bus operator to offer digital learning through iDEA, joining leading businesses including Curry’s, Asda, and Nationwide, in turn demonstrating its position as an innovative, people-first employer in the transport sector.
Hansi Jackson, Head Of Learning And Development for First Bus, said: “This initiative is something that I’m personally really proud of, as we continue to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to our people, whilst supporting the local communities we serve.
“We’re pleased to be working with the trade unions to champion workforce wellbeing, as well as enhancing accessibility and opportunities through inclusive learning. We are thrilled to announce our new collaboration with the team at iDEA. Polly and her team do inspiring work that is having a huge impact on levelling up the digital skills gap in society.
“We are pleased to bring their innovative content and vital skills to our frontline colleagues through our learning centres and to the wider communities we serve.”
The announcement comes as First Bus launches the last of its nationwide rollout of innovative new Learning Centres for front colleagues across their UK depots. The final site was rolled out to members of the local team at the Hoeford depot with Polly Morgan, Chief Executive in attendance to give colleagues a first-hand look at some of the new resources.
Polly Morgan, CEO at iDEA, said: “Our mission is to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital revolution, and we’re proud to work with First Bus to provide comprehensive digital skills support for First Bus colleagues and local members of the communities they serve through the learning centres.
“This partnership helps First Bus in its digital transformation journey by fostering a culture of continuous digital learning and aiding colleagues in adapting to new technologies, and we can’t wait to get started.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
At First Bus, we’re on a mission to grow bus usage – so we’ll get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto the bus.
We’re one of the UK’s largest bus operators, transporting more than 1.5 million passengers a day. Our local bus services serve more than 25% of the population of Great Britain and over half of the UK’s top 15 most populated urban areas.
We are a leading operator in the majority of our local areas, including major urban centres such as Glasgow, Bristol and Leeds.
We have proudly launched our First Bus London operation and now operate 83 routes in west and central London from 10 garages serving 180 million passengers annually.
The combined operation now manages a fleet of over 5,750 buses across the UK.
Transforming our business for the better, we’re putting our people and customers at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’re the UK’s largest national bus operator to achieve real Living Wage employer status, cementing our position as an employer of choice in the sector.
First Bus is committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035 and we already have over 1100 zero-emission buses in operation across our UK fleet.
We’re passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we’re helping local businesses to progress their decarbonisation journeys – giving them access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions, York Pullman Bus Company, Lakeside, Ensignbus, Anderson Travel - and the Aircoach network and Matthews in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
Find more information on our website here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/