Start the day with ambition...

With his HAVO diploma in his pocket, Kyël Hamstra began studying accountancy in good spirits. But office life turned out to be the wrong fit for him. “I want to do physical work.” So he found a job in the warehouse through the employment agency at Nedlin. “I had to learn a lot there. There are many different customers, many types of clothing. That didn’t go well right away. But with the help of the production management, I was able to take my work to another level.” 

It suits him: rolling up his sleeves and getting to it. “I try to step it up every day.” Having mastered the warehouse well, Kyël was ready for more. “I asked the plant manager what was possible.” So when the traineeship for production leader was offered to him, he eagerly seized the opportunity. “In the first phase of the traineeship, the focus was on the process. Now, in the second phase, it is mainly the leadership piece that comes into play.” 

Managing people, giving pep talks: at first, Kyël struggled with it. “But sometimes you just have to go for it - that’s what I learned here.” Later, in the third phase, he gets to lead production independently. This way, the 21-year-old found the perfect job at Nedlin: a dynamic workplace where he can grow and make an impact by making the right decisions quickly. And after his traineeship? “I would quite like to continue growing. But that will take some time; I'll need some more experience first.” 

Until two years ago, Paolo Gomez lived in Portugal, where he worked as a supervisor in a laundry. But adventure beckoned, and the Netherlands always appealed to him. And so Paolo packed his suitcase and left. For a year or two, was the thought, earning money to travel. But now, he never wants to leave here. “I love the people, the country, everything. I wish I had been born here.” 

Through an employment agency, Paolo joined Nedlin. After eight months, his agency contract was replaced by a contract with Nedlin. A year later he got a permanent contract, and two months after that he became coordinator. Now he is working on the next step: advancing from coordinator to production manager. “If there was a small problem, I would say: ‘I can help, I can fix that.’ Then they would say: ‘Okay, let’s see’“. 

For his next step, though, he needs to master the language – and that is quite the task. “Apart from English, I speak Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian: it’s all similar. But Dutch is really completely different.” Paolo is convinced that he will speak the language a year from now. “I still have so many ambitions. I came here at 46, but Nedlin does not look at age. All doors are open, everyone gives you opportunities. I learned to believe in myself here. It feels like a family.”

Christine van der Zee was originally a baker, like her husband. Sixteen years ago, that work no longer proved compatible with her family. She switched to Nedlin, where she started on the flatwork ironer. Recently, she has started speaking to customers as an inside sales account manager. Quite a change, though it comes easily to her. “Only the computer took some getting used to – I never sat behind a desk. But colleagues are always willing to help.” 

Customer contact is a whole new dimension to the work. “I like to solve problems. That was already true on the production floor, where I was widely employable. From the flatwork ironer, I went to packing, and from there I learned every spot. When the position of returned laundry 57 Christine van der Zee if I could do it.” But after Christine revamped that department, the challenge was gone here too. 

On the recommendation of a colleague, she responded to the vacancy for inside sales account manager. “I don’t have a degree, so I thought: there’s no way.” She got the job anyway. “They always look at your full potential and capabilities.” In her new role, her experience in the workplace comes in handy. “In inside sales, you need a lot of knowledge of production. I know exactly who to go to.” Christine is satisfied: “I am in the right place here”. coordinator became vacant, I asked