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Arriva North East bus driver and Foundation Modern Apprentice, John Smith, has been named Young Learner of the Year by the Learning and Skills Council. The award recognises young people whose learning has made an exceptional contribution to their workplace.

Marjorie Haynes, human resources manager for Arriva North East commented:

We are delighted that John's hard work has been recognised. John has used his own training experiences to help us plan how to train other bus drivers in areas such as introducing more effective monitoring methods for the checks that all drivers must carry out before taking a bus out on service.

John was presented with his award – a certificate and a laptop – at Alton Towers on Thursday 18 March and will now be put forward for national awards to be announced at the Hilton Hotel in London in June 2004.

John spent 12 months studying for his Foundation Modern Apprenticeship (FMA) and is now a fully qualified bus driver. In addition, John has achieved an NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service and has improved his key skills in information technology, communication, application of number, working with others, and improving own learning and performance.

John said:

I am very pleased to receive this award – it is unexpected, but very welcome. I'd recommend the FMA to any young person considering a career in bus driving. I found it relatively easy to fit my studies in alongside my driving shifts and the extra work was well worth it. I'm hoping that I will get more opportunities to continue my learning.

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