Press releases

Arriva North East is set to welcome 10 new Polish bus drivers to its North East driving team – bringing the number of its North East drivers originating from Poland to 20.

The new employees, who come from Krakow in Poland and start work next week are qualified, trained and experienced bus drivers. The initiative complements Arriva's continuous recruitment efforts, in turn enabling it to provide more stable and reliable service levels for customers.

Arriva North East managing director Steve Noble, said:

We operate in some areas where there are buoyant labour markets and sometimes it can prove difficult to recruit drivers locally.

We are keen to employ people as bus drivers from within the communities we serve - and we are also happy to receive applications from suitably qualified European citizens.

Arriva is working in partnership with a training agency, based in Krakov, which helps to facilitate the relocation of people from Poland to the UK in a managed, supportive way. They are given English language training, capability and competency tests and are prepared for the cultural change, rather than simply making a move to a different country.

Arriva has taken one of its own buses over to Poland so that the drivers have experience of handling a right hand drive vehicle. The company also provides a mentor for each group of Polish employees so if they have any concerns or need to clarify anything, they can do so quickly and personally.

Arriva believes that the effort it puts into training and preparation in a staged process helps to facilitate a more effective and mutually beneficial relationship. In fact, its retention rate of Polish drivers so far is 100 per cent.

Steve Noble said:

It is important to ensure that these drivers are properly prepared for relocation and that they are right for the job. Their move to the UK is organised professionally and they are given every support, including assistance with documentation and suitable accommodation.

We try to make the move as easy as possible in a welcoming environment and have involved local trades unions in integrating the drivers. We have even organised social evenings and other events both in Poland and in the UK .

All new drivers receive training from Arriva's training school for the first few weeks after they have arrived. After that, each driver is allocated an experienced driver as a 'buddy' for the first few weeks while they are out on the road, and Arriva reports that some good friendships have sprung from that.

Steve Noble said:

This is working really well. Our drivers have welcomed their new colleagues; they are settling in well, and will make a good contribution by helping us to deliver services for customers.

Arriva North East employs 1,400 bus drivers and operates across the North East of England.