Recruitment

NS continued to recruit on a large scale in 2024. The number of colleagues needed remained more or less unchanged: we are currently able to absorb staff departures with new hires in most target groups. Although this is sometimes a slower process than it used to be. In 2024, there were many vacancies at NS: 5,317 at vocational education level and 922 at higher professional or university graduate level. We had 66,661 applications and filled 5,069 vacancies including 531 main guards, 544 train drivers, 177 Safety & Service officers and 1,592 retail staff. 74% of the vacancies were filled with new hires, with the remainder filled through internal transfers. We offered placements to 15 trainees, and the hiring desk contracted 453 temporary employees for fixed-term projects. 

However, the recruitment of mechanics, IT professionals and Security & Service officers remains a major challenge. This is a continuous focus for us, and we therefore set up specific programmes to address this problem in 2024.

To fill all vacancies, we deploy mass media and regionally targeted recruitment campaigns, as well as campaigns in which colleagues nominate candidates and employee ‘ambassadorship’. We provide a fast and pleasant application process tailored to the target audience. For many positions we explicitly focus on people’s talents and skills rather than their diplomas.