Socioeconomic impact of training, employability of staff and diversity

We exert a positive socioeconomic impact on society by developing the knowledge, skills and talents of our staff, by aiming to keep them in sustained employment, and by being a diverse and inclusive organisation.
The social benefit of training at NS comes from the improvement in the economic value of the potential capacity of its workforce after they have left NS. The social benefits of this in 2018 were approximately €12 million, which is less than the previous year (€14 million) because the number of NS staff in the Netherlands has fallen.
Incapacity for work limits the employability of employees. This has negative social costs, for example because of higher medical costs and costs of benefit payments, and the loss of productivity and purchasing power. NS wants to improve that impact.
We want to be a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone feels welcome. Diversity produces social role models and recognition for e.g. women, people with occupational disabilities and people from migrant communities. In addition, diversity ensures that NS is more aware of what is happening within society, which lets us adjust our policy to suit.