Australian Firms Hopes To Recruit Irish Bus Drivers

Ventura Bus Company, operator of the bus service for one of Australia’s largest cities, is to offer Irish bus drivers the opportunity to move and work for them.

The transport company is planning a recruitment drive to be held in Dublin next month offering Irish bus drivers a four-year contract with a salary of €48,000-a-year (AUS$60,000) and a guaranteed visa.

Serving approximately 25 million annual passengers the company currently employs 850 but has said it will “take as many drivers as possible”.

The Letterkenny based Swilly Group has been awarded the contract to supply drivers to the company.

Damian Kerin, the Swilly Group sales manager, told the Irish Independent: "Ventura are looking to recruit experienced bus drivers for minimum four-year contracts to work predominantly in their city bus operations.

"There is a shortage of drivers because the economy is booming and while we hope to recruit up to 50 drivers through this process, if there are 100 or more who qualify, then Ventura have places for them all."

According to Mr kerin it is not just the drivers abilities the company wanted but their Irish charm: "They have a handful of Irish bus drivers there at the moment and Ventura has noticed how courteous they are to customers. They like to have a bit of craic and that's good for customer relations."

He added: "It's hard to say how many unemployed bus drivers we have in Ireland but it has been on the increase in recent years, particularly due to the downturn in tourism, and tour drivers have been especially hit."

Ventura is looking for drivers holding a full EU Bus licence (Category D), a minimum of three years' bus-driving experience and a clean driving history.

Swilly Bus's senior driving instructors will support a recruitment team from Ventura, which will be travelling to Ireland in the last week of April.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a formal interview and a driving assessment in Dublin. Successful candidates will then be offered full assistance throughout the visa application and relocation processes by specialist staff from Ventura.