Learning at NS
Continuous development and learning is important for our people and essential for NS. The world around us is changing and offers opportunities and possibilities that we want to take advantage of, while learning and development ensure that our employees have the knowledge and skills required. NS’s activities in 2024 included the launch of the Development Counter. This is a pilot project in which colleagues working in NS Operations are given access to a training budget. A total of 39 colleagues received training through this counter, allowing them to develop within or outside their job. This trial will be evaluated in 2025. The year 2024 also saw the first LeerXpress: a week that places a special focus on talents, learning and development.
In 2024, NS invested over €11.3 million in training programmes and other educational interventions (2023: €11.5 million). We trained new employees at our own NS Learning Centre, our NS TechniekFabriek, or facilitate their training via our Regional Training Centre (ROC) partners and STC training centre in Rotterdam and for Retail in collaboration with the NCVB national vocational training centre in Tilburg. We also ensured that our staff remained up to date by practising their professional skills and acquiring new knowledge. The onboarding programme for managers was improved in 2024.
Focus on professional expertise
The subject of Safety played a central role in the design of a new Safety & Service (S&S) basic training programme in 2024. This programme is geared to the varied and changing work of Safety & Service employees and the context in which they work every day. In order to provide a realistic training environment, we introduced a training platform with accompanying training train in 2024.
The new Train Driver Basic Training Programme was launched on 4 September for all colleagues being trained as train drivers within NS. The first group of trainees started in September.
In 2024, 102 new first-year and 85 second-year vocational education students did their work placements at NS as part of their train driver programme. They attend their programmes at the Regional Training Centres in Amsterdam and Twente, Koning Willem 1 College in Den Bosch and STC Rotterdam. A total of 48 train drivers joined NS in 2024 from the Regional Training Centres in Amsterdam and Twente and STC Rotterdam. In October, we celebrated the milestone of ten years of new train driver hires at NS through the Rail Transport Driver level 3 vocational training programme. A total of 16 new students also embarked on the Surveillance and Safety Enforcement Officer - Train Guard course, a vocational programme at MBO Amersfoort and NOVA College in Haarlem in 2024, and NS offered work placements to 22 second-year students from these programmes. NS hired 4 graduates from MBO Amersfoort (an institute for vocational education and training). In 2024, 404 main guards, 364 train drivers and 108 Safety & Service officers successfully completed their basic training. In addition, 54 employees were trained as station service staff. We are training 23 new staff for jobs at NS Customer Service.
Rolling stock technology and TechniekFabriek
TechniekFabriek (‘the technology factory’) is our internal technical vocational programme for current and prospective train mechanics. We started scaling up our intake in 2024. This will increase training capacity, particularly in high-demand areas such as the Randstad conurbation. In September, 78 students started their training programme at the TechniekFabriek. In 2024, 23 TechniekFabriek graduates progressed to jobs at NS Train Modernisation and NS Maintenance and Service.
Technicians with backgrounds outside NS can join NS via our lateral entry programme. With help from ROCs across the country, the technicians in this programme are retrained as NS mechanics. Relaxing the qualification requirements means that more applicants from other sectors will be eligible to work as mechanics at NS.
Retail training
NS runs its own vocational training programme known as Stations Retail. This programme is tailored to the specific dynamics of working at the station. Passengers only spend a short time at the station, which calls for quick and effective service by employees. In 2024, 36 employees completed their training as Retail Specialists or Retail Managers.