Around 20 participants are learning about training and daily work life as a bus driver in Wiesbaden
Around 20 women learned about the profession of bus driver at an event in Wiesbaden. Under the title "Women Drive Buses," the municipal job centers of the Groß-Gerau district, Wiesbaden, and the Rheingau-Taunus district brought the participants together with ESWE Verkehr, the local public transport company. The aim was to provide information about training, requirements, and the daily work routine in the bus driver profession .
With support from the job center, the women are currently working on re-entering the workforce or reorienting their careers. The training day covered topics such as different bus types and driver's license categories, traffic regulations, radio communication with the control center, dealing with traffic jams and delays, and de-escalation techniques.
Seven-month training program presented
The focus was not solely on immediate application for the seven-month bus driver training program. Participants were also meant to be able to assess whether the profession was fundamentally suitable for them and what additional requirements, if any, needed to be met.
“The aim is to highlight new perspectives and encourage participants to explore new, perhaps previously unimagined, possibilities,” explained Simon Stöhr, Head of Employer Services at the Groß-Gerau District Job Center .
Two female bus drivers from ESWE also spoke about their own career paths. Shirin Rana began an apprenticeship with the transport company after completing her secondary education. Sanela Hofmann switched to the bus driver profession at the age of 48 after many years working in retail.
50 out of 750 drivers are women
According to ESWE recruiter Sylia Niebling-Metzger, the Wiesbaden transport company employs around 750 people in its bus driving service, including 50 women. The Hessian State Working Group on Employment puts the proportion of women in the occupational group "operating vehicles and transport equipment" at 4.9 percent, according to a statement from the district .
According to the district, the "Women Ride the Bus" initiative is also taking place in other regions. An event has already been held in Offenbach, Hesse. The event in Wiesbaden was the first such collaboration between the three participating job centers specifically for women.
First applications after the day of action
At the end of the event, several participants submitted their CVs to ESWE Verkehr. Others received advice on what qualifications they still lacked for an application or whether, due to working hours and shift patterns, an apprenticeship closer to their home might be more suitable. KreisGG
A 55-year-old participant from Gernsheim also wants to work with the job center after the event to determine whether training in the driving service is an option for her and what offers are available in her local area.
(DISTRICT OF GROSS-GERAU/WIESBADEN – RED/PSKGG)
