Amid a growing trend for earlier retirement in the UK and general recruitment challenges facing many industries, the coach and bus sector may need to look at a younger workforce to fill vital roles.
That is the philosophy followed by Green Destinations, a Birmingham-based home-to-school transport specialist.
In Ibraheem Malik and Sidrah Amin, it has two 20-year-old Transport Managers and, across all office staff, including senior management, the average age is 31.
Chief Executive Jameel Malik believes his relatively young business — both in terms of staffing and company history — is showing the way forward.
Green Destinations launched in 2012, although it only became a full-time venture in 2020. It specialises in transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The company initially used an external Transport Manager. However, Jameel assessed this approach wasn’t working and decided to instead hone the young talent within the company.
Learning on the job
“External Transport Managers are never there permanently and so the team were, in effect, getting action delegated to them, so they were already getting that exposure to the tasks,” says Jameel.
“Then we thought, okay, why don’t we develop their skills further? And, the more they took on, the more confident we were that they could consider the [Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence] exam.
“I think sometimes people can just swat up and, if you’re relatively capable and intelligent, you’ll pass the exam and, all of a sudden, you become a Transport Manager.
“We were trying to grow our own people within the team in the sense of gaining some real-life experience in the job. So, when they were doing the exam, they could actually relate better to it rather than just memorising parrot-fashion.”
Both Ibraheem and Sidrah started in their Transport Manager roles just over a year ago, having joined the operator as Business Support Officers.
Jameel explains how the business tried to hasten Ibraheem’s and Sidrah’s development by, for instance, having them take part in a mock Public Inquiry depicting a real-life example, which was organised by one of the solicitors firms’ consultants.
Ibraheem, who is Jameel’s nephew, reveals: “It was quite a nerve-wracking experience trying to imagine it from the defence side.”
Sidrah was also sent to a real Public Inquiry as an observer to help her to appreciate the responsibilities of ensuring compliance.
“It helped me understand what implications it can have and the effects it can have on the business,” she says.
“Attending it helped me to see the kinds of things we need to do in our business to ensure that we always achieve high standards.
“It highlighted what we need to look out for in the business to ensure we’re not in that position ourselves.”
Chasing Earned Recognition
Green Destinations, which was a finalist in the Outstanding Customer Experience category at the 2023 routeone Awards, gained DVSA Earned Recognition accreditation in April, thanks in part to the work of Sidrah and Ibraheem.
Jameel adds that the decision to work towards this accreditation was influenced by having such young Transport Managers.
“Unless you’re older and you’ve been in the sector for many years, you can get complacent,” he says.
“That’s why the Earned Recognition came up. For me, the biggest risk was our licence. And, if we could get Earned Recognition early on, it just seemed that people like Ibraheem and Sidrah would not know anything else other than that very high standard.”
Working with much older colleagues, who may think they are wiser, and picking them up on compliance matters does not come without its challenges, they all admit.
As Jameel says: “It’s not easy for someone who has been a driver for 20 years to be told by someone who has only been on the planet for 20 years.”
The more we can get young people into the sector, the more we can use that as a case study in terms of attracting others – Jameel Malik
However, the young duo believe they have much to gain from their interactions with more experienced members of the team.
Jameel points out that young people are desperately needed in the industry to replace the older parts of the workforce who depart, which was particularly the case during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, working for a coach or bus operator may not be the first choice for many youngsters, which is where the examples of individuals such as Ibraheem and Sidrah can be powerful.
Jameel says: “I think it’s fair to say that most young people that you meet in school and college, if you were to ask them about career choice, I’d be very surprised if any percentage said they wanted to get into transport. My hunch is most people fall into the sector for one reason or another.
“People need to be transported and that requirement will never change — even if we end up with cars that can fly, transport will still be required.
“I think the more we can get young people into the sector, the more we can use that as a case study in terms of attracting others.”
The role of Transport Manager is a “fulfilling” one, says Sidrah. “The transport services we provide ensure that the SEND passengers have that professional academic development.
“And with the younger employees that we’re starting to bring in, it helps to ensure that they advance in their careers.”
Green future
With Jameel having only turned his attention to the business full-time in 2020, the team at Green Destinations is looking forward to expanding after an encouraging last few years.
Its transport work comes via contracts directly with schools, as well as with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Birmingham City Council, Wolverhampton City Council, Worcestershire County Council and Coventry City Council.
Jameel’s focus has been on quality rather than quantity. He says: “We’ve been really focused on quality of service. That is really the bedrock for us. Safe service, high quality, high compliance.”
That said, he adds that the intention is to also move to pastures new and work with other local authorities. He will be hoping that the approach to using a young team will help lead to a green and prosperous future for Green Destinations.
