- Name: Lucy Arnold
- Role: Operations Graduate
- Joined: September 2017
- University: University of Westminster
- Degree: History
"I would definitely recommend this as a career for women."
Description:
"Travelling through London and riding the bus on a regular basis made
me think about how daily life for so many people is shaped by public
transport. I realised I had a real interest in transport and wanted to
understand how the systems worked and who the teams were that made it
happen.
Go-Ahead’s graduate scheme outlined a programme of progression in bus
company management that I could explore as a young person embarking on
my career.
My core department is operations and I have been surprised by how
quickly you can learn and progress within it. It is important to get
involved right from the beginning as the opportunity is there to make
the programme what you want it to be and shape the particular career
path you would like to follow. By the second year, I will be in a
position dealing with people management, route management and being
accountable for those functions.
My first year of training has involved working in every area of the
business and understanding each departments’ contribution to the bus
service we offer. Alongside this, I have had the chance to assist in
the introduction of a Demand Responsive Transport Service. This has
been a unique opportunity whereby I have learned various skills in
Project Management, as well as understanding what it takes to launch a
new service. Go-Ahead has put so much time into the training programme,
ensuring that each graduate can benefit from a flexible framework.
The role of a graduate is a challenging one. It is important to
acknowledge the vast history within the transport industry, and just how
passionate people are about what they do. Some of my colleagues have
been in their jobs for decades and it has enhanced my respect for their
achievements. Whilst respecting these, it is also important that we
build on them, through developing our service to meet the changing
demands of the customer. The graduate programme has provided me with an
opportunity to tackle this exciting challenge whilst meeting a really
diverse group of people involved in the bus industry.
I would definitely recommend this as a career for women. Go-Ahead is
an organisation which values inclusion and diversity in the workplace,
through offering a culture where women can achieve and join what has
previously been a primarily male dominated industry. I have been a part
of the Diversity Focus Group since I joined the company, looking at what
diversity means to everyone, the concerns people have, and how to
achieve diversity in all forms. I was pleasantly surprised to find how
many females there were in the industry."
