Press releases

Arriva Scotland West has welcomed four new Polish bus drivers to its driving team at Inchinnan depot – Marek Osikowicz, Tomasz Kakitek, Wieslaw Rymarczyk and Adrian Gromadzinski - joined Arriva earlier this month from Krakow .

Arriva is working in partnership with a training company, based in Krakow, 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.

The new employees 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.

Another Polish speaking driver, Colin McLachlan, who was already employed locally and is based at our Johnstone depot, has been on hand to help if any dialect words, or strong Glasgow accents need translating!

Arriva Scotland West director and general manager Ian Craig, 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.

He added:

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.

Ian Craig said:

This is working really well. Our drivers have welcomed their new colleagues; they are settling in well, have made contact with the local Polish community - and are making a good contribution by helping us to deliver services for customers.

Arriva Scotland West employs 313 bus drivers and operates across Renfrewshire.