Become A Bus Driver With School Bus Driver Trainer Certification

By Author: ADVAN
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School bus drivers play an important and trusted role in their communities. It is essential that they are well trained and kept up to date with the most current best practices. Every organization that provides student transportation should have the best possible pipeline of drivers. And from this pool of drivers, trainers can emerge to further ensure a culture of excellence and well-trained drivers.
Training the trainers: School bus driver trainer certification!
To train others in driving school buses, school bus driver trainer certification is essential. But how do you train trainers? It starts with careful selection of candidates and a good train-the-trainer program.
School bus driver trainers certify that an individual has already mastered the skills necessary to safely operate a school bus. Certification provides employers, such as school districts, with assurance that potential bus drivers have the knowledge and understanding required to safely transport students. There are many different types of certification ...
... programs available. Good courses, such as that from the well-established training provider TAPTCO, ensure that those teaching school bus drivers have the tools and the skills necessary to do their jobs. After completing this program, individuals will be ready to start their careers as driver trainer certification professionals!
What Does a School Bus Driver Trainer Do?
If you're interested in becoming a professional school bus driver trainer, you'll need to start by getting your bus driver trainer certification. Training to be a school bus driver will teach you essential skills such as driving safely, first aid, emergency management, managing students, and communicating with parents. Once you have this certification, you'll be well on your way to becoming a successful school bus driver, and ready to get the additional training necessary to train other drivers.
School bus driving trainers have, by far, the greatest impact on future or current drivers and are the biggest determiner of driver success. Trainers are key employees who educate and train new and working drivers in best driving practices, safety, and their employer’s policies, procedures, processes, and driving techniques. They also assess and determine whether or not an operator is ready to get out on the road and safely perform the job. Training other school bus drivers requires knowledge of all aspects of school bus driving as well as many other skills.
Good trainer certification programs will teach trainers about the ways in which people, specifically adult learners, learn. You might be an excellent school bus driver yourself, but without understanding the ways other adults take in and process information and master skills, you will not be an effective trainer. Therefore, learning how to teach and how others learn is an essential building block in the school bus driver trainer certification process.
When looking for a school bus driver trainer certification program, choose one that covers all aspects of bus driver training, including classroom teaching, closed course exercises, and behind-the-wheel skills instruction.

What Skills Must School Bus Driver Trainers Have?
Driver trainers teach required courses for beginning drivers, as well as ongoing training for established drivers. Topics include driving fundamentals, defensive driving, vehicle components, emergency procedures, first aid, discipline of student passengers, and community relations.
Driver trainers teach drivers how to operate all types of school buses and evaluate driver performance while in training. Driver trainers must also be good at record-keeping for training and student evaluations. They maintain records on drivers, license renewal dates, driving records, physicals, and more.
Those who train school bus drivers must have excellent oral and written communication skills. They must also be able to prepare lesson plans and communicate important information to their trainees.
When looking for a training program to teach school transportation professionals how to be effective and successful school bus driver trainers, look for programs that offer a complete course, such as TAPTCO’s Trainer Certification Process toolkit that helps you interview, test, promote and prepare your best candidates to become professional driver trainers. It is a train-the-trainer program that will turn your best candidates into those who can teach other drivers the best practices.
Reach out to TAPTCO today to learn more about its trainer toolkit!