While unemployment continues to grow in the economy the Australian bus and coach industry today launched a nationwide recruitment drive
While unemployment continues to grow in the economy the Australian bus and coach industry today launched a nationwide recruitment drive aimed at meeting increasing demand for bus services.
“We expect as many as 10,000 new jobs to become available in the industry over the next five years, so many bus and coach operators, bus manufacturers and parts and service suppliers across Australia may experience worker shortages,” claims Michael Apps, Executive Director of the Bus Industry Confederation (BIC).
“In NSW alone we expect 3000 new jobs with the announcement of 300 new buses from the Rees Government; the industry will need workers to firstly build the buses, drivers to drive the buses, mechanics to keep the buses running and all of the management, back room and planning staff that are needed to make sure the buses go where they are supposed to go on time.
“NSW is just the start, bus services are set to expand in capital cities and regional centres across Australia in response to increased demand for public transport.”
The Day in the Life initiative highlights the typical working day of employees in the bus industry and will link in, through advertising and web based applications, to wider information about a range of jobs and careers with bus operations across Australia.
“Transport costs as a factor in household income, urban congestion and a wider recognition of the negative impact of climate change means the bus industry, as part of the solution to these problems, is under the pump to find workers to get the extra buses on the road,” Apps says.
Federal Minister for Employment Participation, the Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, launched the ‘Day in the Life’ initiative which will combine a widely distributed DVD with advertising and web based information to highlight jobs and career opportunities in the bus industry.
O’Connor says efficient, accessible and reliable public transport systems can be part of a short, medium and long term solution to the problems of traffic congestion, climate change and the impact of fuel prices on living costs.
Professor Graham Currie, Chair of Public Transport at Monash University says: “We need careers and recruitment initiatives like Day in the Life to make sure our workforce is big enough to keep up with increased demand for services.”
The Professor’s comments came as recent research showed Sydney commuters undertook 5.6 million more trips on State Transit buses in 2008, up 3 percent from 2007, while in Melbourne over the same period bus patronage experienced significant growth of 12 percent, and across the country patronage on public transport systems grew at three percent in 2008.
Apps says this careers initiative goes beyond just a driver and a bus.
“We need workers across the whole industry including drivers, mechanics, public transport planners and workers in the bus manufacturing, parts and services sectors,” he says.
“The industry is putting out this material on DVD, on fliers, on the web, on posters and on buses across Australia to send the message to job seekers that we are a growing industry offering a range of challenging jobs and careers, catering to a wide range of backgrounds and skills sets.
“With unemployment set to rise rapidly, now would be an opportune time to seek out a career in a growing industry,” Apps says.
For more information about the Day in the Life careers initiative go to www.ozebus.com.au and visit the bus industry jobs centre.
To organise copies of the DVD contact the Bus Industry Confederation on (02) 6247 5990 or email admin@bic.asn.au.