Training and professional development

As an intra-Group partner for learning, development and change processes, DB Training conducts the vast majority of training and professional development with about 25,000 events for about 250,000 participants per year. More than 3,000 training sessions are offered, addressing all employee groups and functions within DB Group. Qualifications are offered for in-person, digital or blended learning schemes. A modern infrastructure, such as the Cologne-Dellbrück training center and the training workshop in Leip­­zig, provides space for creativity, new solutions and new digital learning formats, such as virtual reality (VR) training for rail operations and vehicle technology.

DB Academy is responsible for the qualification of about 10,000 ex­ecutives and potential executives of DB Group. The portfolio offers them training according to their individual career and development stages, enabling them to apply leadership standards and implement strategic areas of action at DB Group.

The Covid-19 crisis has significantly impacted training and qualification activities. Existing training formats need to be developed and adapted to a more digital everyday working environment. In 2020, a large number of digital alternatives were created in a very short time, such as digital onboarding as part of the DB welcome event. With regard to vocational training, existing IT infrastructure could be used, allowing the training to go ahead in a purely virtual format when the Covid-19 crisis started. Practical components of the vocational training were rescheduled and held in person in accordance with a Covid-19 safety policy once the first shutdown ended. Learning apps and DB Learning World as a central learning platform proved effective for use in digital learning scenarios. In addition, the training centers’ site policies were adapted; all training centers were rearranged and operated in accordance with hygiene standards following Covid-19 safety regulations. DB Academy and DB Training have also developed additional online services to support all employees and executives during the Covid-19 crisis. Numerous target group-specific sessions were created, including “Leadership in times of crisis,” “Getting through the crisis together” and “Back to the new normal.” There was very high demand for these, and they received highly positive feedback (about 5,000 users).

¹⁾Germany, including vocational trainees and dual-degree students and including executives from 2019.

Germany (companies with about 77 % of domestic employees).

Includes only training and development days in customer-oriented job families for permanent employees, excluding vocational trainees and dual-degree students.

Training and development costs per employee fell at a very high level. The number of training and development days increased.