Stagecoach East Midlands highlights value of apprentices for National Apprenticeship Week

• Case study on first-year apprentice Ellie Hunt
• Apprentices key in maintaining bus operator’s history of reliability

A major local bus operator is highlighting the outstanding work done by its Apprentices, in driving the operation forward and maintaining its reputation for reliability, during National Apprenticeship Week.

National Apprenticeship Week runs until Sunday 15th February and Stagecoach East Midlands is shining a spotlight on Ellie Hunt, an Engineering Apprentice who took part in the operator’s ‘trade up’ scheme, to move to Engineering from Operations.

Ellie said: “I feel the trade-up scheme and apprenticeship run by Stagecoach is a brilliant idea. As a female, there are not many opportunities for people like myself to access this type of apprenticeship.

“The hands-on experience is fantastic and the level of experience from the other Engineers is amazing - they are all willing to share their knowledge to help me through my apprenticeship. The college side of the apprenticeship works well and is a mixture of theory and practical tasks. As a first-year apprentice, the experience has been great. There are plenty of learning opportunities and no two days are the same!”

Apprentices play a key role in maintaining Stagecoach East Midlands’ reputation for reliability, both today and into the future. Recently, the operator revealed figures showing that it runs 99.56% of the miles it is timetabled to run. This means that it is unable to operate only one in every 225 scheduled trips - and nearly half of this very small amount of mileage lost was due to factors outside of the operator’s control, like congestion and road diversions.

Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands, said: “We are hugely proud of the work done by our Apprentices. They really are the future of the bus industry – it is their dedication and ingenuity that will drive the industry forward into the future.”

-- To find out more about local bus routes and services, and to buy before you board and to track your local bus, you can download the Stagecoach Bus App from https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/stagecoachbusapp.

ENDS

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About Stagecoach

Founded in 1980, Stagecoach is the UK’s largest bus and coach operator, with a fleet of 8,400 vehicles connecting over 100 major towns and cities across England, Scotland, and Wales.

With 25,000 people in our team, we’re deeply rooted in the communities we serve. We know how important it is to stay connected to the people and places that matter – and we’re proud to play our part in helping make everyday journey simpler, greener and more reliable.

It’s all part of our promise: we’ve got you.

We work closely with partners to support greener, smarter, and more inclusive transport – helping reduce congestion, cut emissions and boost local economies. More than 10% of our 8,400-strong fleet is now electric, and that number continues to grow as we invest in cleaner, more sustainable travel.

As part of our sustainability strategy, we’ve committed to supporting local communities by donating up to 0.5% of profit before tax each year to charitable causes across the UK.