Member Article

Blueline Driver Academy takes jobless onto the roads

A taxi driver training academy which takes recruits from the dole queue to the roads in a matter of weeks has been hailed a success.

Blueline, Tyneside’s largest taxi firm, launched its Driver Academy in partnership with Northumberland College and a number of training providers.

An initial 19 owner-drivers have graduated from the Academy in the past few weeks with a further 21 expected to qualify once their medicals and record checks have been approved.

Ian Shanks, Managing Director of Blueline Taxis, said: “I’m delighted to see our first recruits have graduated from the Driver Academy and I’m sure they will have successful careers with Blueline.

“We wanted to set something up that would not just give people a qualification but the guarantee of work. That’s why we partnered with Northumberland College to set up the Academy because we want to see people move away from welfare and into work with no cost at all to the participants.”

Blueline is currently delivering the training on site at its Wallsend headquarters but is planning to develop a purpose-built facility on Shields Road in Newcastle in the coming months.

Academy recruits study nine units during the three-week course, delivered by Blueline staff and tutors from Northumberland College, including customer service; dealing with difficult situations and route knowledge.

Once they have completed a series of written assessments, they graduate with a nationally recognised VRQ (Vocationally Related Qualification) to demonstrate their skills and knowledge.

But Blueline has increased the incentive by agreeing to pay for all of the graduate’s first week’s rent as Blueline drivers and assuring them of a minimum take home pay of £350 per week once they are licensed and passed their probationary period.

Richard Naisbitt, course leader for transport at Northumberland College, said: “Driver training qualifications have existed for a while but this is the first time we have delivered the course in partnership with a taxi firm.

“The recruits learn on site at Blueline so they get a feel for how a large successful taxi firm operates from day one. I think it’s fantastic that Blueline is able to provide real work for the drivers as soon as they qualify.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .