A training hub designed to create new bus drivers and upskill existing ones is launching in West Yorkshire at the end of this month.

Realise, one of the UK’s biggest transport providers, is opening its Transport Training Academy in Cleckheaton on Monday, March 31.

The centre, based at Lodge Grange in Gomersal, will host Realise’s innovative Route to Success programme, a free to access training scheme available to members of the general public within West Yorkshire who are seeking a career as a bus driver. The course is funded as part of the Adult Skills Fund investment in the region, meaning there is no cost to the candidate.

More than 600 people have already engaged with the programme since August 2022, with many going on to secure employment with either a large operator or at an SME in West Yorkshire.

All of Realise’s practical driver training for West Yorkshire will now take place at the Cleckheaton Academy, although stage one of the process – a myth-busting four-day course designed to allow individuals to determine if bus driving is the career for them – will still take place at multiple locations across West Yorkshire.

Kairon Flowers, Director of Transport at Realise, said: “This is a notable landmark in our delivery of Route to Success and other passenger transport training across West Yorkshire.

“The programme is not only helping to tackle the shortage of bus drivers across West Yorkshire but giving adults a chance to gain the skills and qualifications they need to get straight into jobs which can set them up for a successful career.

“Having a permanent base to deliver our practical training will help us continue the momentum around Route to Success and help people achieve their dream of becoming a bus driver, as well securing bus routes for many years to come.”

As well as the Route to Success initiative, the Academy will also oversee additional training opportunities from the Cleckheaton site.

This will include a commercial offering, allowing bus providers to send their drivers for training, as well as the mandatory CPC training all bus drivers must complete to ensure their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence remains valid.

For more information, visit www.realisetraining.com