Deutsche Bahn to Hire 22,000 New Employees in 2019
Deutsche Bahn says it wants to hire more staff for more quality.
In 2019 Deutsche Bahn wants to employ more than 2,000 train drivers and 1,500 traffic controllers as well as around 3,300 maintenance workers and 1,300 on-board service personnel. These figures mark a signifiant increase in these jobs compared to the previous year. They will help improve the passenger experience at core points on the network.
22,000 New Employees for 2019
Deutsche Bahn is hoping to hire 22,000 new members of staff in 2019. They will be apprentices, experienced workers as well as those wishing to get into the rail sector having previously worked elsewhere.
Member of the DB Management Board for Human Resources Martin Seiler said:
“Hiring such large numbers is complex, especially now, when there is so much competition on the labour market. But we have attractive employment conditions to offer, not least thanks to the most recent wage agreements. We also have innovative, skilled recruiters.”
Deutsche Bahn says increased investment in employees is key to the success of the ‘agenda for a better railway’.
2018 Hiring Figures
In 2018 Deutsche Bahn achieved its goal of recruiting more than 24,000 employees. Among these DB hired 1,600 train drivers, 3,000 maintenance workers and 1,300 traffic controllers. Furthermore, it hired 1,100 new on-board service staff.
Staff Training
In order to train its new employees well and quickly, Deutsche Bahn is increasing its capacities by a third this year. Since many rail-specific jobs are not available on the labour market, Deutsche Bahn is one of Germany’s biggest training providers. This is true for two categories: firstly, experienced individuals who switch over to the rail sector. And secondly, young people who are in training programmes where they are in education and in industry. DB wants to hire 4,000 apprentices in 2019, 200 more than in 2018.
Hiring Strategies
To recruit new employees, Deutsche Bahn will run castings on stations and in trains. It will also bring its jobs to life with VR headsets. Last year Deutsche Bahn abolished the cover letter for apprentices in order to make the application process simpler. Instead, the strengths and motivation of candidates are explored in personal conversations.
