Bus CHOOL
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He is conscious that bus drivers often receive little training after they pass their PSV test, and he is running a pilot course with Midland Scottish to provide a career structure for drivers. This covers roadsense, emergency procedures and the mechanical side, and Stark is enthusiastic about its potential. "This should improve job satisfaction for drivers, and produce a better and more responsive workforce," he says. "It should help the industry to hold on to drivers, and offer them progression through the ranks."
Driver training is another area of interest to BCT, and the driver instructor assessment scheme will help maintain a proper register of instructors which, Stark says, will result in better-trained drivers, reduce training times and ensure more first-time passes.
Stark, who runs his own training consultancy in Scotland, is enthusiastic about the BCT regional scheme. but admits that it is still too early to know if the experiment has worked.
"If nothing else, it provides bus and coach companies in Scotland with an information centre," he says. "If they have a training need, they can phone me, and I can introduce them to the proper agency, whether it is BCT or organisations like the Royal Society of Arts, the Chartered Institute of Transport or local colleges offering CPC courses. They are often more inclined to speak to someone in Scotland."
Maurice Jones, BCT's chief executive, believes 'that the most effective way of assisting the industry and gaining commitment to staff development and training is by face to-face contact with opertors. He says: "If the pilot trial proves as successful as we expect it to be, then we shall seriously consider expansion of the regional adviser network into other areas." Li by Gavin Booth