Lothian Buses Apprentice Bus and Coach Engineer

Lothian Buses Apprentice Bus and Coach Engineer

- Work full time in a Lothian Buses workshop

- Expected start date:
August 2026

Lothian buses, the largest municipal bus company in the UK, is looking for apprentices to join its award-winning engineering team!

The apprenticeship programme is open to anyone with an interest in starting a career and gaining a recognised qualification in the motor industry.

At Lothian, a huge part of its Modern Apprenticeship Programme focusses on practical, hands‑on learning in a garage environment, allowing trainees to gain key skills from colleagues and mentors. With the help of GTG Training, the three-year training course offers not only a Scottish Vocational Qualification, but also technical support from manufacturing specialists.

Join today and learn while you earn working for Lothian, where you will be part of a fantastic team who always work together to deliver a world‑class service across Scotland’s capital city.

What do Lothian do?

As the main bus operator across Edinburgh and the Lothians, Lothian is dedicated to delivering an outstanding customer experience offering a city‑wide network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Operating for over 100 years, Lothian is now one of the region’s largest employers with over 2,600 colleagues.

Lothian is committed to delivering safe, reliable and clean vehicles to meet its customers’ needs and expectations. Lothian’s fleet replacement strategy was built on embracing new vehicle technology, which coupled with its decarbonisation strategy, will shape how they work towards achieving net zero.

As part of this transition, Lothian is investing heavily in upskilling its engineering team, ensuring the training provided equips employees with the core skills required to not only maintain the current technology on offer but prepare them for the new and advancing technologies of the future. This is a really exciting time to join the industry as Lothian takes these next steps towards vehicle sustainability.

Apprentices will have the opportunity to be fully educated on current and new maintenance procedures, including diagnostics, health and safety requirements and the tools needed to keep diesel and electric vehicles serviced and maintained.

Lothian’s apprenticeship programme serves as a spring‑board to many opportunities within the engineering industry and beyond. Previous Lothian apprentices have gone on to enjoy long, successful careers within the business, with many taking on supervisory and managerial roles.

What will I learn?

At Lothian we provide training through two separate Modern Apprenticeships that are open to anyone:

Heavy Goods & Public Service Vehicle Maintenance and Repair SCQF Level 7

• Practical hands‑on learning in a garage environment working on new and evolving technology
• Gain technical skills to help maintain a fast‑advancing fleet
• Carrying out inspections, servicing and MOT’s on a range of vehicle types
• Diagnosing and repairing electrical and mechanical faults in both bus and coach systems and components
• Carrying out scheduled electrical and mechanical maintenance on buses and coaches
• Contributing to safe working practices in Bus/Coach Engineering and Maintenance
• Using the latest workshop materials and equipment
• And much more!

Vehicle Body Repair and Alignment SCQF Level 6

• Practical hands‑on learning in a garage environment working on new and evolving technology
• Gain technical skills to help maintain a fast‑advancing fleet
• Carrying out inspections, servicing and MOT’s on a range of vehicle types
• Carrying out various aspects of coach building repair including welding, fabricating panels, moulding, preparation and painting.
• Carrying out accident damage repairs
• Carrying out repairs found on inspections and driver reports
• Contributing to safe working practices in Bus/Coach Engineering and Maintenance
• Using the latest workshop materials and equipment
• And much more!

What might a typical day in this job look like?

Much of the Apprenticeship is undertaken in one of Lothian’s main garages, where you will gain vital hands‑on practical experience assisted by one of our technicians. You will develop good working relationships with peers in the workshop, as…