A major Newark and Retford bus operator is highlighting the outstanding work done by its Apprentices, in driving the operation forward and maintaining its reputation for reliability, during National Apprenticeship Week.
National Apprenticeship Week runs until Sunday 15th February and Stagecoach East Midlands is shining a spotlight on Ellie Hunt, an Engineering Apprentice who took part in the operator’s ‘trade up’ scheme, to move to Engineering from Operations.
Ellie said: “I feel the trade-up scheme and apprenticeship run by Stagecoach is a brilliant idea. As a female, there are not many opportunities for people like myself to access this type of apprenticeship.
“The hands-on experience is fantastic and the level of experience from the other Engineers is amazing – they are all willing to share their knowledge to help me through my apprenticeship. The college side of the apprenticeship works well and is a mixture of theory and practical tasks. As a first-year apprentice, the experience has been great. There are plenty of learning opportunities and no two days are the same!”
Apprentices play a key role in maintaining Stagecoach East Midlands’ reputation for reliability, both today and into the future. Recently, the operator revealed figures showing that it runs 99.56% of the miles it is timetabled to run. This means that it is unable to operate only one in every 225 scheduled trips – and nearly half of this very small amount of mileage lost was due to factors outside of the operator’s control, like congestion and road diversions.
Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands, said: “We are hugely proud of the work done by our Apprentices. They really are the future of the bus industry – it is their dedication and ingenuity that will drive the industry forward into the future.”
— To find out more about local bus routes and services, and to buy before you board and to track your local bus, you can download the Stagecoach Bus App from https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/stagecoachbusapp.
Posted on 13 February 2026
