MOBILITY COMPANY Transdev intends to create up to 300 new trainee jobs throughout 2021, with up to 100 of those due to commence by the end of January, the company has announced.
As more Aussies start returning to their workplaces and daily routines, Transdev will be undertaking a training and recruitment blitz in the coming months to provide customers with peace of mind when travelling and meet increased demand, it explains.
Transdev Australasia chief People and Culture officer Paul Birch says a variety of different skills were required within the public transport sector, beyond simply driving a vehicle.
“Every day our team of ‘Journey Makers’ provides thousands of Australians with safe, reliable and comfortable journeys on our services, and having a highly skilled workforce is essential,” Birch said.
“The opportunities at Transdev are vast and we employ everyone from drivers, mechanics, spray-painters to transport planners, business development managers and cyber-security experts.
“In response to the current climate the transport industry is changing rapidly and we are welcoming more people with transferable skills from industries such as customer service, finance and aviation into our workplace,” he said.
INCREASING DIVERSITY
Transdev is one of the largest multi-modal providers of public transport in the Pacific region, delivering bus, train, ferry, light rail and on-demand services which, on average, transport more than 137 million passengers each year, it states.
Birch says he hopes the move would help to make the transport industry more attractive to more people and increase diversity throughout the sector.
“As a business, Transdev is essentially in the people sector; that is, we are a team of people serving people. It is for this reason that having a diverse workforce is critical,” Birch added.
“In providing a high standard of customer experience it is important that our ‘journey makers’ reflect and represent the community in which they serve.
“While we’ve invested significantly to achieve greater diversity across our workforce, there’s always more that we can do across the industry.
“Through our recruitment initiatives, we are hoping to attract people who may not [have] ever considered a career in public transport, such as women, school leavers, and those from indigenous backgrounds.”
DRIVER RECRUITMENT
As part of Transdev’s new intake of trainees and training for existing employees throughout 2021, one such participant is 34-year-old Warwick Chaseling – an ex-pizza store employee with a hospitality background – and now new to the bus industry as a trainee driver.
In terms of how he’s enjoying it, Chaseling says it is a bit of a learning curve going from driving a car to driving a large and expensive vehicle like a bus, but ultimately “…the fundamentals are the same.”
“The main driver for changing careers for me was job security – buses and public transport is essential, they are thing that is going to be around for quite some time, which is certainty you just don’t get in other industries,” he explained.
“I have been in hospitality for more than 10 years and knew it fairly well and it was time for a change.
“There’s a chance for growth and variance in the public transport industry as there are a lot of different career pathways beyond just driving, which I didn’t realise until I’d started.”
“I really enjoy driving and, coming from a hospitality background, I love interacting with customers. I am looking … forward to getting on the road once my training finishes and building my regular customer base.
“I am fortunate that the job allows me to combine my love of driving with my passion for customer service,” Chaseling said.
“At the moment the majority of my work are split shifts, which is very similar to what I was used to in hospitality.
“Unlike in hospitality where you are working during the day, the split shifts I am on means that I have flexibility to do something in the middle of the day – whether it is going to the beach or the gym,” he stated.
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ABOUT TRANSDEV
Transdev believes public transport plays an important part in how a city comes to life, it states. It says its day-to-day work influences its families, friends and future generations where they live, work and play.
In Australasia, Transdev has 6,170 people passionate about operating its 2,010 vehicles and vessels, which deliver more than 160 million customer journeys each year, it explains.
Transdev is actively seeking applicants for a number of positions nationally, it states.
Photography: courtesy Transdev