CN revamps employee training program



CN announced Sept. 28 a revamped and revitalized employee
 training program that it said will be anchored by two modern training
 centers to be built in Winnipeg, Man., and in suburban Chicago, Ill.


“These facilities will be the centerpiece of CN’s enhanced railroader 
training program,” said Claude Mongeau, CN president and chief executive
 officer. “The centers in both Canada and the United States will include a 
modern training curriculum and equipment to effectively train a new 
generation of railroaders.”



The announcement coincided with the groundbreaking for the Winnipeg 
center. Labor leaders joined special guests Manitoba Premier Greg
 Selinger, Transcona Member of Parliament Lawrence Toet, Winnipeg Mayor Sam
 Katz, and other provincial and local officials, in Transcona, home of CN’s
 main Canadian heavy repair shops.

CN will begin construction construction 
next year on a similar training center adjacent to its Woodcrest Mechanical
 Shop, located in Homewood, Ill.

 The 100,000-square-foot facility in Winnipeg will host 250 to 300 employees 
a week. In the U.S., the approximately 75,000-square-foot center will have
 100 to 125 employees a week. New hires and existing employees working jobs 
ranging from conductor to locomotive mechanic, and from track supervisor to 
signal maintainer, will receive state-of-the art training at the centers.


Over the past four years, CN has hired thousands of new railroaders as 
long-service employees retire and leave the company. Workforce renewal is a
 major priority for CN and will be in the coming years.