To entice potential bus captains, a local bus company has put up a job ad offering a monthly salary of $5,000.
This attractive salary has attracted nearly 1,300 applicants and nearly half of them are locals which include university graduates, bus captains as well as people from the logistics industry, as well as digital and IT personnel.
Shin Min Daily News reported earlier that a 42-year-old bus company, Westpoint Transit, is offering a monthly salary of $5,000 to recruit 10 bus captains in its first phase of recruitment.
While there are no nationality restrictions for candidates who wish to apply for the bus captain role, however, drivers must have at least one year of relevant experience, a valid Class 4 driving licence and a vocational licence. Working hours are six days a week, up to a maximum of 44 hours weekly, with seven days of annual leave.
Successful applicants will also receive a joining bonus of $10,000 upon signing a three-year contract.
The recruitment, which deadline is on 15 January 2024, reportedly has attracted a lot of attention. In an interview, Westpoint Transit business development director, Li Jianyou revealed that the company received a total of 1,274 applications, 45% of which were Singapore citizens and permanent residents, 35% were Malaysian drivers, and the rest were from China, India and Bangladeshi nationals etc. The majority of applicants are male, with 5% female.
Li said that to entice more people to take up the bus captain’s role, the company had been planning for this recruitment drive for a year. Originally, the company had expected to attract 100 to 200 applicants, but in the end, it exceeded expectations and received more than 1,000 applications, including people from public bus companies, private car-hailing companies and logistics industries. Interestingly, he also received applications from people in the digital and IT industries.
In addition, there are many highly educated candidates, many of whom are graduates from local universities. Li said that the company has signed contracts with five applicants so far, two of whom are university graduates. Interviews are still ongoing and it is expected that all interviews will be completed by mid-April.
Due to the overwhelming response, Li said the company will give priority to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents with vocational licences, followed by Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents without vocational licences, before considering the rest.
Li Jianyou also added that like his peers in the industry, the company also hopes to entice more people, especially locals, to join the bus industry.
