SJ has therefore decided to continue to run its own train driver school as long as the need exists.
The shortage of train drivers in Sweden will persist for several years to come, and it is clear that the training places within the YH schools will not be enough to meet the need for new drivers. SJ has therefore decided to continue to run its own train driver school as a regular operation as long as the need remains.
After the turn of the year 2024, two courses with a total of 32 students will start and this pace will then be maintained annually. The base for the education will be Hagalund in Solna, but the idea is to also develop a hybrid solution that can enable distance learning.
– There are many advantages to having a train driver school under our own management. Among other things, we have already seen that we get a higher level of knowledge from our own students and this provides a more robust supply of skills. In addition, we can get good synergy effects in the training for vehicle operators, since it to some extent contains the same training components as the train driver training, says Anna Lycke, project manager.
Filip Nyström from Växjö is one of the students who started SJ's train driver training in February this year. He had previously worked as a train conductor but switched to a nursing job. After a while, he longed to return to the railways and chose train driver training.
– I missed the railway job where it feels meaningful to me to help others, I experienced that we do this by taking people from A to B in a pleasant, smooth and sustainable way to travel. Helping during the journey itself when passengers had questions, concerns or requests that we could respond to in one way or another and make the passenger feel heard, that was what I longed for. Both the job as a train conductor and a train driver gives the employee a lot of free time during the day. Sure, you have to work inconvenient working hours, but if it works for you, there are so many more opportunities to enjoy daylight in your free time. I appreciate my free time and noticed that office hours drastically reduce the time I have for meaningful leisure activities compared to working hours on the railway. I wanted that time back.
Filip Nyström also thinks that the training itself at SJ's train driver school is good.
– It is clear that SJ wants us students to become good train drivers. My group is very good, the teachers are committed and we get the opportunity to put a lot of the theory into practice by, among other things, going out to the railway yard here in Hagalund. SJ is also an experienced operator with a lot of knowledge. It is a professional company and an employer with a lot of opportunities. In addition to that, it is fun that one day is rarely the same as the next and you get to hear many funny anecdotes. For me, it is an economic upgrade from my previous profession in healthcare, which also counts. Being trusted to shoulder a great responsibility for other people is also something that gives a kind of pride, says Filip Nyström.
Four courses are already underway and after the summer of 2023, two more courses will start, one in Hagalund and one in Gothenburg. Recruitment for the 2024 courses will start in the fall of 2023.
Advertisements for the new courses will be published at the end of this week, and the application period is open until August 18.
According to the press release.
