At the Meijer Group, we believe in providing opportunities for employees to develop their potential. Take, for example, Klaas, who received a recommendation for atheneum after primary school but quickly moved down to HAVO and struggled halfway through. Purely theoretical subjects were not Klaas’s thing; he missed the variety, not due to a lack of ability, but because it did not offer him enough challenge. By chance, he discovered the MBO in Harlingen and pursued the “Ship Metalworker” program. This was exactly what he was looking for, and he even graduated cum laude with a perfect score in one of the subjects.

Klaas started at a shipyard in Jirnsum as a steel and non-ferrous welder. After a few years, the shipyard unfortunately went bankrupt, and Klaas ended up at Meijer Metal. Here, Klaas was able to further develop as a welder, thanks to the facilities provided by Meijer. Klaas eventually trained as a level-4 TIG welder and welded many different semi-finished products. Meijer also kept evolving and acquired the first welding robots. Klaas wanted to expand his knowledge and applied internally for the position of welding robot operator. Thanks to his experience as a manual welder and his good theoretical knowledge, Klaas quickly became familiar with the robots.

Klaas remained curious, not only about the technology but also about the process before and after the technology. He wanted to know who the client was for the product he and the robot were making and how the handling was done once the product was ready for shipment to the customer. By chance, a position opened up as a work planner, and Klaas seized the opportunity and applied again. This position required a completed training as a mechanical draftsman, and Meijer was once again willing to invest in training through an EVC (Recognition of Acquired Competencies) process. An EVC process is a procedure where the knowledge, skills, and experiences someone has gained in practice are recognized and valued. Through the accelerated training, Klaas completed the mechanical draftsman course with a full-fledged diploma.

Klaas has now been the key link between various departments at Meijer for many years and coordinates many facets of customer orders. No day is the same, and with a secondary role as a safety officer, Klaas is a very satisfied Meijer employee who has gratefully utilized the opportunities provided.