Worldwide cooperation on training for the rail, transportation and logistics sector agreed

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, DB International and DB Training sign cooperation agreement

Berlin/Eschborn. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, DB International and DB Training, Learning & Consulting will collaborate on vocational training in future, based on a cooperation agreement signed in the Bahntower in Berlin on 15 December 2015.

The aim is to establish the framework for international cooperation on vocational training, with a particular focus on the establishment and operation of training organisations in the rail, transportation and logistics sector outside Germany. Related pilot projects are now being rolled out in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and Oman) and Kazakhstan.

Vocational training is one of Germany’s most successful exports. On behalf of the German Government, GIZ provides support for the establishment and operation of vocational schools and the training of teaching staff in more than 60 countries. ‘Every year, we help 100,000 young people around the world to gain vocational qualifications. We would like to integrate this experience into our joint work with Deutsche Bahn and expand our activities together,’ says Carsten Schmitz-Hoffmann, Head of Cooperation with the Private Sector at GIZ. ‘In countries where the rail sector is becoming ever more important, we as partners can offer support to provide staff with good qualifications and thus increase competitiveness in a global context.’

DB International, Deutsche Bahn’s international engineering and consulting service provider, will mainly contribute its experience of business overseas, its knowledge of the rail and transportation markets in the target countries, and its technical expertise in the field of engineering services. ‘In the last few years in particular, our experts around the world have recognised a constantly growing need for training services in the rail sector. The cooperation with GIZ will allow us to develop comprehensive solutions for this purpose,’ says Dieter Michell-Auli, Managing Director for International Markets at DB International.

DB Training, Deutsche Bahn’s training and consultancy service provider, is responsible for providing training and knowledge-intensive services to third parties. Stefan Riese, Managing Director of DB Training, says: ‘We are happy that we can contribute our many years of expertise in vocational training, skills development and the establishment and operation of training organisations in the rail and transportation sector to this cooperative venture.’

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise and operates worldwide. It supports the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development, and is also engaged in international education work around the world. Through its work, GIZ assists people and societies in shaping their own future and improving living conditions.