Career opportunities and skills needed
Career opportunities
Careers in the coach industry can be grouped into four main areas:
• Driving
• Passenger services
• Operations and service delivery
• Engineering and maintenance
Drivers provide the most important service in the coach industry. Their driving can affect the way a customer sees the whole coach company. Some coach drivers work on regular routes, whereas others can be required to drive away from home on trips and holidays. Passenger services staff are employed to provide information to passengers at coach stations and other pick up places. Customer service agents may take bookings, sell tickets and provide advice and information to passengers. Tour guides usually travel on a coach during trips or holidays and help with planning and providing information, and with loading and unloading the coach. Operations and service delivery staff ensure the smooth running of coach services, including making sure that any trips or holidays on offer are financially viable for the company to provide. They also have to make sure that enough staff are available and that buses are maintained to provide safe and efficient journeys.
Engineering tends to sit as a more separate area of work in the coach industry, although there are opportunities for engineering staff to move quite easily into operations and service delivery job roles.
Skills needed
The skills most valuable to the coach industry are good communication and customer service, strong organisational skills and an ability to work well in a team. It is becoming increasingly helpful, although not essential, to speak a foreign language.
Driving is also a key skill, as a large proportion of the industry is employed in driving roles. However it is recognised that it is not a simple process to gain the skills required for driving coaches and so some industry organisations are prepared to take on trainees and provide the necessary training.