Metro and Los Angeles Valley College to Provide Free Training to Military Veterans for Jobs as Metro Bus Operators

Tuesday March 27, 2007

Los Angeles Valley College has created a special curriculum for military veterans to prepare them for job interviews as Metro bus operators on March 28 and 29 at 1 p.m. Previous bus driving experience is not required. The free pre-screening will be held at the college’s Professional Media Resource Center, 5800 Fulton Ave. in Valley Glen and will include an overview of Metro, math and reading tests, distribution of Metro’s bus operator applications and an introduction to the support service offered by Work Source California, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

This event grew from Metro’s idea to tap into the skills that veterans acquire during military service. “Veterans return with a lot of skills (Metro) supervisors use,” said Lennie Ciufo, Director of Job Training for Valley College.

The training program for veterans who advance beyond the pre-screening will include more skills training than the usual Bridge Program training, which began in August 2006. The training takes two weeks or approximately 45 hours.

Veterans attending should bring a California driver’s license, documents proving their right to work and a driver’s record from the Department of Motor Vehicles or an H-6 printout. The process takes around three hours.

Metro employs 4,200 full and part-time bus and train operators. For more information on the program, contact the Los Angeles Valley College, Professional Media Resource Center at (818) 947-2941