Attracting new talent and Building a Singaporean Core

All 300 new Bus Captain recruits are Singaporeans or Permanent Residents. They include 66 who currently possess only a Class 3 driving licence, and will undergo a fully sponsored training programme to upgrade them to the Class 4A licence required to drive a bus.

“Every single one of our new Bus Captain hires is a Singaporean or PR and over 85% are not currently working in the industry. That goes against what we’ve been seeing in Singapore’s bus industry where, traditionally, a key challenge has been attracting new, local talent,” said Andrew Bujtor, Managing Director, Tower Transit Singapore.

“To date, over 70% of our total workforce is Singaporean, and I think that’s indicative of a changing attitude amongst locals towards a profession that’s starting to be recognised for its importance – our Bus Captains keep Singapore moving. Tower Transit provides essential services to all Singaporeans and residents and we’re focussed on building an exceptionally strong Singaporean core in our workforce, while continuing to recognise the importance of Malaysian talent in our public transport industry,” he said.

In line with its aim to attract new talent, Tower Transit’s new hires include more than 40 new Bus Captain recruits that are younger than 35 years old while the youngest is 24.

Strong response from affected Bus Captains

Close to 70% of the 484 Bus Captains currently plying the 26 routes of the Bulim package have already signed up with Tower Transit, with another few weeks to go before the 31 December final response date.

“The response from the affected Bus Captains has been extremely positive and we’re hopeful that three quarters or more will join us before the end of the year. These are highly experienced Bus Captains who’ve been driving for many years, yet have expressed optimism about the industry and their future prospects with Tower Transit. It validates our efforts in putting our staff first,” said Mr Bujtor.

Training to start in January 2016

Tower Transit will begin its first training session for Bus Captains on 4 January 2016. First-time Bus Captains will undergo a fully sponsored, 6-week training programme which will include a Class 4A driving course, route familiarisation, and a Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) certificate programme covering topics such as customer service, bus equipment mastery, safety and service delivery. Affected Bus Captains who are already familiar with the routes will be given a 2-day course covering essential topics in the WSQ certificate.

Tower Transit continues to welcome Singaporean and PR candidates for walk-in interviews for Bus Captain positions at its Jurong East Information Office located at Block 135 Jurong Gateway Road, #03-331 Singapore 600135. Tower Transit Singapore has plans to hire 900 staff including 750 Bus Captains by mid-2016 when it will begin operations.