A Spur to hire local drivers
SBS Transit and SMRT have received a boost in their efforts to hire local bus drivers, with the Government set to pay up to $3.2 million to fund the training of new hires over the next two years. Ninety per cent of the operators' training costs for new drivers who are Singaporeans or permanent residents will be subsidised, giving them more incentive to hire locals.
The $3.2 million, set aside by the Workforce Development Agency and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), is expected to help recruit about 560 local drivers.
This was announced yesterday at a job fair for bus drivers organised jointly by the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU), e2i and the two transport operators. The funding is a result of the operators' training programmes being brought under the $600 million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience or Spur. The scheme aims to cut employers' costs and help workers stay employable by subsidising their training. Spur now covers more than 800 courses.
New bus drivers undergo a month's training before they take to the road. Besides receiving subsidies, the operators will also ramp up recruitment efforts in the next six months by holding job fairs with NTWU and e2i. SBS Transit executive director Gan Juay Kiat hoped more Singaporeans will see that driving a bus is a rewarding job.

YAR! PLEASE TOTALLY DO HIRE LOCAL DRIVERS. AND SINGAPOREANS OUT THERE WITHOUT A JOB, PLEASE GO BE A DRIVER. I TOTALLY BEG YOU. THE TIONG KOK PPLE ARE OWNING THE COMPANY and half the time i ask them 'does this bus go to ____?' the answer will definitely be a 'wo bu dong ni zai shuo shen me.'(cause dunno english) then i translate. the answer will still be a 'wo bu dong ni zai shuo shen me.'(cause only know how to drive but dont know where they drive past. -.- and like some old ppl need them to drive closer to the stop for them to alight (cause their legs cant stretch too much thus not able to reach the curb) then once again, i have to translate. from ang moh/hokkien/some language which i guessed the meaning correctly to my half broken chinese.) sorry, not that i'm against tiong kok ppl, but these drivers... seriously, i prefer locals who can meet our needs. X) some times, i miss the indian accented 'hello, good day!'greetings when i board the bus. so smile and appreciate the drivers whenever you board the buses, maybe, then will they go an extra mile in the service they provide.