Career opportunities

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Technician

Technicians work in a bus workshop or garage, providing routine maintenance and repairs to all the company’s buses. They make sure that buses are roadworthy and legally compliant and also carry out any repairs or replacements that may be required if a part has been broken or damaged.

Bus technicians normally work in one of three areas; mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or body repair. However generally they initially develop the skills required to work in all three areas.

Technicians undertake routine activities such as checks and fault finding, to ensure that the bus is in good working order. They use a range of tools and equipment, both high tech and hand tools, and keep a record of all the work that they do. If they find a fault, they work with senior technicians to identify whether a repair or replacement is needed. Any work that they then carry out has to meet strict industry specifications.

Newly recruited technicians can earn between £12500 (approximate earnings for a trainee) and £17000 (approximate figure for those qualified to undertake engineering work or those with previous experience).
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Working environment

Technicians work in a bus workshop, which can be noisy and busy. They have to wear overalls to protect their clothes as it is dirty work, and must also have high visibility clothing to ensure they keep themselves safe. They must also wear reinforced boots and protective caps and goggles.

Technicians normally work on a rotating shift pattern, which includes weekends and bank holidays, early mornings and late nights. They work between 37 and 40 hours a week with the potential for overtime as well.
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Skills and interests

Technicians must have an interest and good understanding of the principles and practical aspects of engineering.

Alongside this they also need:
- to be able to work well as part of a team, but also independently when required
- good manual dexterity
- sound problem solving skills
- a planned approach to work
- the ability to work quickly but accurately
- an eye for detail
- awareness of health and safety and of industry regulations.
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Entry into the role

Technicians can be recruited as trainees (normally through apprenticeships) or as technicians who have qualifications in engineering, or have gained previous experience in the field of engineering with either light vehicles (cars, vans etc) or heavy vehicles (lorries, buses, coaches).

Technicians are employed by bus companies and occasionally by specialist engineering firms. Employers will normally expect applicants to have at least GSCEs (or national equivalent) in maths, English and a science subject.

Job vacancies will be advertised on bus company websites, in the local press and on specialist recruitment websites.
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Opportunities

Technicians can learn a wide variety of skills and can specialise in different areas of engineering. They can progress their career to become a senior technician and then to move into engineering management.

There are qualifications related to careers in engineering. These include:
- EDI level 2 certificate in transport engineering and maintenance
- IMIAL level 1 award in transport engineering and maintenance for passenger carrying vehicles
- IMIAL level 2 diploma in transport engineering and maintenance for passenger carrying vehicles
- EDI level 3 certificate in transport engineering and maintenance
- EDI level 1 NVQ and SVQ in transport engineering and maintenance
- IMIAL level 2 NVQ in transport engineering and maintenance
- EDI level 2 NVQ and SVQ in transport engineering and maintenance.
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Useful links

• Confederation of Passenger Transport
• Arriva
• First UK Bus
• GoAhead
• National Express
• Stagecoach
• Route One (magazine)
• Bus & Coach Professional (magazine)
• Coach and Bus Monthly (magazine)

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Case Studies

• BUS & COACH - fitter
  Daniel Smith, a heavy vehicle maintenance fitter for TM Travel talks about how he got into his job.
  Download case study document
• 
  BUS - engineering apprentices interview(1)
  Engineering apprentices from Stagecoach Manchester speak about working in the bus industry. (click on the image to play)
• 
  BUS - engineering apprentices interview(2)
  Engineering apprentices from Stagecoach Manchester talk about working in bus engineering. (click on the image to play)
• BUS - mechanic
  See a bus mechanic talk about his work (links to Virtual Work Experience from Learning and Teaching Scotland).
  View case study (external website)
• 
  BUS - workshop demonstration
  An apprentice engineer from Stagecoach Manchester demonstrates how to align bus headlights. (click on the image to play)
• 
  BUS - workshop demonstrations
  Engineering apprentices at Stagecoach Manchester demonstrate some of the work they do. (click on the image to play)

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