Alstom launches ‘Inclusive Trains’ training scheme

Dedicated training

FUNDACIÓN JUAN XXIII, an entity that has been working for more than 55 years for the social and labour inclusion of people in a situation of psychosocial vulnerability, has been responsible for developing the training project, with the funding and support of the Alstom Foundation, through its Training Centre for Employment, a pioneering resource for providing training solutions adapted to people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental illness. In this first promotion, 10 people with intellectual disabilities have acquired theoretical and practical knowledge about maintenance, cleaning and management of the services offered on board trains, acquiring the necessary skills to become a cabin crew member in the railway sector. Of the ten trainees, three of them have found employment, and two others are currently completing their internships at the high-speed operator OUIGO, which also participated in the training.

Practice at full speed

Once they have completed their training period, for three months (from February to April 2024), the participants are putting their knowledge into practice on board OUIGO’s high-speed trains. The operator has assigned them a variety of on-board and customer service tasks so that they can get to know the day-to-day life of the company and acquire the skills needed to develop autonomously.

This training is carried out with the support and help of the OUIGO crew and the JUAN XXIII FOUNDATION employment service. Thanks to this experience, the participants increase their employability and the likelihood of finding a job.

A project born from Alstom’s employees

The development of this project has been made possible thanks to the support and funding of the Alstom Foundation which, each year, invites all the company’s employees around the world to submit proposals for charitable projects where the organisation can actively participate through financial contributions and logistical support. For the 2022 call, the Foundation Board received 235 proposals from 46 countries. Among these, one of those selected was the one promoted by an engineer from Alstom’s signalling site in Madrid who, through his project, wanted to offer new job opportunities to this group.