Start a career that you love, with a great salary and guaranteed hours. Train for free and become a bus driver in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and Tees Valley.
Whether you’re unemployed and looking to get back into work, or employed but looking to retrain into a new career, this course is your opportunity to take the wheel and start an exciting new career.
To complete the programme, you will need to be:
And that’s it!
Currently available in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and Tees Valley.
‘Route to Success’ is a free training programme that takes people with no bus driving experience and equips them with the skills to become professional drivers.
Whether you’re unemployed and looking to get back into work, or employed but looking to retrain into a new career, this course is your opportunity to take the wheel and start an exciting new career.
In just a few weeks, you will gain new skills and get behind the wheel of a bus. Once the programme is over don’t worry, we’ll introduce you to employers in the area so you can start your dream career without delay.
The programme is split into three stages:
In stage one, you’ll be learning all about the skills you need to excel in the profession.
From myth-busting to expectations of a bus driver, through to a day in the life of and progression stories. We’ll introduce you to the theory tests and hazard perceptions tests and you’ll even get to have a go at the mock tests.
On successful completion of stage one, you will also complete your driving licence application and undertake your medical test. We like to get these important elements sorted in the first week to ensure that you can get started in your new role without delay.
You will then learn the practical skills required to safely operate a passenger carrying vehicle. This is the part where you will gain hands-on driving experience with our partners. You will also prepare for, and undertake theory testing but don’t worry, we’ll make sure you are well prepared.
At the end of the programme, you will be ready to start your new career. At this point you will progress on to a guaranteed interview with a passenger transport operator in your area.
To create and deliver Route to Success, funding has been made available from West Yorkshire Combined Authority, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Tees Valley Combined Authority.
Available in Hartlepool, Stockton-On-Tees, Darlington, Middlesborough, Redcar and Cleveland.
Learn more.
Available in Liverpool, Sefton, St. Helens, Wirral, Halton and Knowsley.
Learn more.
Available in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield and Leeds.
Available in Hartlepool, Stockton-On-Tees, Darlington, Middlesborough, Redcar and Cleveland.
Available in Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster.
Available in Liverpool, Sefton, St. Helens, Wirral, Halton and Knowsley.
Kairon Flowers, Head of Passenger Transport at Realise.
Sheryll McBride, Route to Success learner
Levi Howath, Route to Success learner
This course is packed with all the elements you need to start a bright career in bus driving.
You can expect to cover:
After the programme, you can expect a guaranteed interview with an employer near you.
No problem. It doesn’t matter if your query is big or small, our teams are here to help. Just complete a quick enquiry form and we’ll be in contact soon to assist you with your query.
The Route to Success programme will be delivered through a mix of methods to ensure you get the most out of the experience.
You will learn through:
We asked people what they liked about being a bus driver, they said:
Head of passenger transport
Head of passenger transport
I’m Kairon, head of transport for Realise and I’ve been with the business for just over six years. I joined as a bid coordinator apprentice back in the summer of 2015 and made the move into operations in January 2019 and I’ve never looked back. My current role is leading and growing the transport team (currently a team of 30), who deliver the passenger transport bus driver level 2 apprenticeship, in partnership with leading transport operators.
Training & development officer
Training & development officer
I have been in transport for 14 years, I am a qualified assessor, trainer, and CPC instructor, working on the West Yorkshire contract ‘route to success’.
Partnership manager
Partnership manager
I joined Realise as a trainer after working as a CPC instructor. I saw the value of the apprenticeship within the industry and wanted to be part of it. I worked closely with learners delivering workshops and providing guidance and support. After a year I became a performance manager, still working closely with learners and my small team.
Performance manager
Training & development officer
