By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
CN operates two major training centers in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Homewood, Illinois. And this year, both campuses are marking their 10th anniversaries.
Located in a Chicago suburb that’s home to CN’s U.S. headquarters, the 55,000-square-foot, two-story training center in Homewood turned 10 on July 18. The 100,000-square-foot training campus in Winnipeg will mark its first decade on Sept. 9.
Since 2014, more than 70,000 people have attended courses at the campuses, including new hires and employees who need to further develop their skills.
“At CN, developing our employees is a priority for us,” said CN Senior Manager of Media Relations Ashley Michnowski in an email. “The training opportunities at our centers also extend beyond our employees, as we offer complimentary training programs to our customers twice yearly.”
Ten years ago, CN was working to revitalize a company-wide training program for current and future employees. The two training centers were established to help fulfill that goal.
“There was a need to have a dedicated center for new and seasoned railroaders, and these centers provide both indoor and outdoor learning with a blend of theoretical and hands-on training,” Michnowski said. “Building these centralized training facilities allowed CN to create a consistent and controlled learning environment that integrated employees into the company while allowing them to learn the [railroad’s] fundamental values.”
The 55,000-square-foot, two-story training center in Homewood, Illinois, opened on July 18, 2014. CNThe Homewood training center was constructed over an old railroad turntable and roundhouse, and adjacent to a locomotive repair facility.
Each week, the campus hosts up to 250 CN employees from across the United States as well as others who need classroom and/or hands-on training. The center features 14 classrooms, two learning labs and a 10-acre outdoor field training facility. Equipment on site includes locomotive simulators and dispatcher stations.
In addition to classrooms, labs and simulators used for in-house courses, hands-on learning is supported by outdoor training tracks, work equipment machines, and a welding and rail-defect yard.
Overall, the campus is used to provide training to new hires and transportation, engineering and mechanical employees. Courses vary in length from three weeks to 24 weeks depending on if an attendee requires new-hire, recertification or developmental technical training.
The courses are designed to assist new hires in absorbing the railroad’s operating and safety procedures in new hires and help current employees learn new skills or improve their capabilities.
Training courses primarily target locomotive and rail-car mechanics, track supervisors, signal maintainers, electricians, rail traffic controllers, locomotive engineers and conductors.
In 2021, CN added a fallen worker memorial at the Homewood campus to honor employees who lost their lives while on the job.
Each week, about 350 people come to the 100,000-square-foot training center in Winnipeg to attend courses. CNMeanwhile, the Winnipeg campus provides hands-on training in learning laboratories with the use of such equipment as locomotives, cranes, dispatch stations, and locomotive and signals/communication simulators. It also features outdoor labs with dedicated rolling stock and other equipment for field training.
About 350 people come to the campus each week to attend courses.
Both classroom and field training are vital to CN’s training goals, said Michnowski.
“We have found that the best way to learn or reinforce a skill is hands-on training in the field, so the majority of our training courses do include a field component,” she said.
“While courses vary in degrees of field components, we strive to make training as engaging and practical as possible for everyone.”
Both training centers were designed with safety in mind. The use of a campus instead of a work location for training enables CN to introduce new technologies and equipment with a more specific and consistent emphasis on safety.
The variety of indoor classrooms, labs and simulators can reflect real-life working conditions in a more controlled environment, said Michnowski.
Courses at the campuses vary in length from three weeks to 24 weeks depending on if an attendee requires new-hire, recertification or technical training. CNPractical experiences can be gained by using the campuses’ outdoor training tracks, rolling stock, work equipment machines, welding area and rail defect yard. CN aims to integrate new railroading advancements into its training practices, said Michnowski.
“This is a unique onboarding experience that allows new employees to come together to gain immediate hands-on training in a dynamic environment where they are not only learning from our dedicated instructors, but from their peers, as well,” she said.
