Press releases

James Higlett is 22, a graduate and one of European transport services organisation Arriva's rising stars on its Graduate Development programme. And he is soon to be joined by candidates from Denmark, Germany and Sweden as the Group's training programme opens up to graduates from outside the UK.

Recruited last autumn, James joined Arriva's UK Regional Bus engineering management scheme, which is designed to help trainees learn all about the business and become one of the European transport group's future leaders.

Based largely at the Maidstone depot of Arriva Southern Counties, James has spent time with the engineering team learning all the procedures needed to ensure that Arriva's buses meet the exacting standards set by Government inspection team VOSA.

James explains:

At university, mechanical engineering was largely theoretical, there wasn't much opportunity to work on practical engineering projects. I knew that I wanted to specialise in vehicle engineering, preferably in a commercial environment so the Arriva training programme was ideal.

James has spent time working in engineering pits, had a go at paint spraying, and even spent time in the commercial division learning about network planning and bus service scheduling. And in another challenge, James is currently working towards getting his PSV licence and will then spend some time out driving on a normal bus route experiencing how the job is for drivers every day.

James added:

If I am to succeed and become a good manager for the business it is important that I have actual experience of all elements of it. Bus driving is a skilled and professional job and I think that it is important that drivers know I understand the challenges they face.

So what's next? James will soon be moving on to the next part of his training, with stints in finance and management teams.

And throughout his programme James has the support of Arriva's director, human resources, Alison O'Connor, and his mentor, director of legal and commercial services, Chris Applegarth.

Alison O'Connor added:

The Graduate Training programme is designed to give graduates exposure to significant responsibility early in their careers. They gain the opportunity to move into an industry sector where expectations are changing and developments are high profile. These graduates are our future business leaders for an organisation that is always looking ahead.

Notes to editors

• Arriva is one of the largest private sector providers of passenger transport in mainland Europe. Employing more than 30,000 people and providing more than one billion passenger journeys every year.
• Arriva provides transport services including buses, trains, commuter coaches and water buses in eight European countries: Denmark, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
• Arriva is the largest private bus operator in Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands and is London's largest operator. Arriva was the first private company to be awarded rail contracts in Denmark.
• In the last five years, the turnover of Arriva's mainland European operations has increased by more than 250 per cent to £514.8 million (Euro €746 million).
• Arriva was the first UK transport company to become a signatory of the European Road Safety Charter: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/roadsafety/charter.htm.