“Recruitment record achieved”
Deutsche Bahn launches trainee offensive
8/25/2023 8:16 am
While many companies are desperately looking for trainees, Deutsche Bahn is setting a recruitment record. Thousands of young people are opting for an apprenticeship or a dual study program this year. You can apply via chatbot.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) will hire around 5,500 trainees in the fall, around 300 more than last year. “In a highly competitive job market, DB has once again set a recruitment record,” said HR Director Martin Seiler. Most of the young people are trained for the job of train drivers, there are around 800.
Around 750 young people each decided to train as a dispatcher and electronics technician, according to DB. The Group offers a total of 50 apprenticeships and 25 dual study programs. Jobs at the railways are “lived climate protection,” said Seiler. “We need a lot of young people for that.”
Applications with chatbot “DB Smile”
In total, DB trains more than 14,000 people. This makes it one of the largest trainers in Germany. The group wants to hire around 25,000 new employees this year. Seiler said there were still apprenticeships advertised for this year. For the coming year, hiring would have begun.
Applications to DB can be made online via chatbot, also from a mobile phone or tablet. According to Bahn, the “DB Smile” chatbot serves as a personal application assistant and has been used around 43,000 times since its introduction in January. Since August, the chatbot application has also been possible via voice input.
The group is also increasingly going to schools to promote working for the railways there. The number of schools with which DB works and offers practical days and internships is more than 400. By the end of the year there should be a good 500 school cooperations.
According to the IFO Institute, many other German companies lack numerous skilled workers. Accordingly, 43.1 percent of companies suffered from shortages of qualified workers in July, as can be seen from the latest economic survey of around 9,000 companies nationwide. Around two-thirds of companies in the transport sector as well as architecture and engineering firms report a shortage of skilled workers – a new high for these sectors.