England has approximately 555,000 passenger transport employees, with the majority working in the bus and coach industry.  30% of jobs in the sector are based in London

Workforce statistics:

• 80% of the workforce are male
• average of the workforce is 44.2 years
• 31% are 50 years and over
• 85% of the workforce are white
• 54% of the workforce have an NVQ Level 2 or higher, as it is in the UK
• 14% have no qualifications, compared to 12% for the UK
• 14% of the workforce work part-time

Employer statistics:

• 28% of  companies report recruitment difficulties
• 7% of companies report retention problems
• 17% report skills gaps
• skills gaps are reported for customer handling, oral communication and problem solving and skills
• 29% of companies provide training for their employees
• 24% found that there was a lack of funding available for training
• 12% report a lack of suitable courses in the local area

Source: GoSkills national fact sheet 2006 and GoSkills Skills Needs Assessment (stage 1) 2006a

For more data on England’s passenger transport sector see: