The Women in Bus and Coach “Spotlight On” initiative shines a light on the incredible contributions of women in all roles across the bus, coach, and community transport sector. From professional drivers and engineers to human resources experts and CEO’s, ‘Spotlight On’ will highlight the diverse talents and achievements of women in this dynamic industry.
Today we focus on and find out about:
Anthea King
Recruitment and Training Officer
Go North West
What is your role?
I am a recruitment and training officer with Go North West. I have been in this role since January 2024, after over 20 years in the bus industry.
We operate buses in Greater Manchester and are a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. We run Bee Network bus services in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester.
My role involves recruiting and training drivers. Once someone has joined, I am involved in teaching them to drive, practicing theory tests, doing assessment drives, leading CPC training, and conducting inductions. The Training team all support each other, to ensure we have it all covered and that our new drivers are trained to the level required.
How did you get to where you are today?
I started in administration for engineering over 20 years ago and did that for 7 years. I always wanted to be a driver, so then moved to driving, which I did for over 13 years. I passed the assessment for my current role in November 2023.
In my role, it is useful that I have experience of other departments and can give this information to the new drivers.
Did you experience any challenges getting to where you are today?
For my current role, I had to pass several assessments. I needed to create lesson plans and even run through practice runs with managers and the examiner. It was quite daunting but using my knowledge and skills from my previous role, I successfully passed.
What does a typical day look like?
On arrival to work, I plan my day with the trainees. I take them all on the bus and assist them learning. On other days, I may be in the classroom – it is really varied, and every day is different. As a training team, we all support each other.
What has been your bus or coach sector career highlight?
Becoming a recruitment and training officer has been the highlight of my career. I really enjoy seeing the result of drivers I have trained being out on the road, it is really rewarding.
Recently I trained the first Go-Ahead Women cohort for Go North West. Earlier this year, Go-Ahead announced our target to recruit 1500 women bus drivers and achieve 50% gender balance by 2035. I was really proud to be involved and look forward to training more cohorts.
What could the Bus and Coach sector do to improve the industry for women?
I have taken part in Women Recruitment Days recently and they are really worthwhile.
It is important for women to have role models – please, anyone reading this, do not be put off if you want to drive buses, just go for it.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
I see myself staying in this department, we also have another woman joining us to work in the recruitment and training team soon.
Thank you for sharing your story Anthea you are truly an inspiration!
To find out more about who Anthea works for, and career opportunities visit: https://www.gonorthwest.co.uk/careers
