A project to train refugees as bus drivers is set to launch in Eindhoven soon, after pilot scheme in Arnhem was successful.
The scheme is now to be trialled in the cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen
An initiative from Dutch bus company Connexxion, in which refugees are trained as bus drivers, is a success and is to be expanded. Nine Syrian status holders successfully completed driver training in Arnhem. Since completing their training, the refugees have been offered jobs at Connexxion and now regularly drive several bus routes in Arnhem. The scheme is now to be trialled in the cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen.
Dutch bus company, Connexxion, announces plans to roll out the project in Eindhoven and Nijmegen
The news comes after a pilot in Arnhem, Gelderland’s capital city, was a success. Nine Syrian refugees, all of whom gained legal status in the Netherlands, successfully completed the necessary training to become bus drivers.
At the beginning of their training, none of the trainees had any prior experience with bus driving. They also did not speak Dutch well. According to Connexxion, now that they have completed their training, they have been fully accepted into the company and drive buses through several routes in Arnhem on a regular basis.
It is not yet known exactly when the pilot in Eindhoven and Nijmegen will start.
Source: iamexpat.nl
Similar schemes elsewhere
Transport chiefs in Germany’s capital, Berlin, are training refugees to drive buses, addressing a shortage of drivers and integrating newcomers. And a similar scheme is in place in Bristol, in the West of England, offering refugees the chance to have a career behind the wheel of one of the city’s buses.
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