March 01 2021
This National Careers Week, Candice Mason of Masons Minibus and Coach Hire shares insight into opportunities for a fulfilling career in the coach industry and how young people can get involved.
Do you LOVE to travel? Do you have a thirst for exploring? Bored of the same four walls and want to get out and meet some amazing people across a region? And want to do this with an industry which offers you a great salary, fantastic pension, all the training you need and a brilliant environment?
If this sounds good to you then a career in the coach industry is one to consider. Apart from the obvious role of becoming a driver there is so much more to working in a coach company and each person involved plays a valuable role. With a wealth of opportunities to develop skills, this can be a career path for life.
Roles that are available within the coach industry include but are not limited to, coach driver, mechanic, operations roles, accountant, programme designer, customer service, human resources, learning and development roles, marketing and sales, business development – the list of possibilities really is endless and each role has progression routes.
Many of these roles can be done through apprenticeship training, and I encourage young people to reach out to your local coach operator and ask them about opportunities within their workforce. The industry is passionate about attracting young people to the profession and most local companies can advise you on the best routes into the industry.
In our industry, your career path can be tailored to your interests. For example, you might gain your license at the age of 18, and from here you could progress into coach travel, taking groups of passengers to tourist destinations across the country and Europe. There may come a point in your life where you want something with a different challenge. Maybe you have learnt so much from being on the road you have the skills to design a programme of day trips and holidays, helping contribute to the brochure and supporting customers as they book their adventures. Or perhaps you enjoy route planning and would like to progress into the operations side of the business.
If you’ve an eye for working with people, managing staff could be for you which can include helping to devise management support systems and develop your staff’s skills through training.
Maybe numbers are your thing, there are opportunities to manage the financials of a company, ensuring a plan for purchasing the fleet of vehicles, budgeting repair costs and setting sales targets.
Or is it the mechanical side of things that piques your interest? Ensuring the vehicles are compliant with safety checks and repairs are manged to ensure the fleet is fully utilised at all times. Body work repairs can take up much of our time to ensure a fleet is looking brand new for our customers.
One of the key benefits to working for coach operators is they are often small, family run business with a real value on their team’s contributions and a great opportunity to progress up the career ladder. Whatever your goals you’ll be sure to go the extra mile in the coach industry.