Welcome to CHILL, where we facilitate talent development for a sustainable world in chemistry, materials and biotech. How we do that? By making education and business work together effortlessly.
From lateral entrant to process operator: talent development for workers
CHILL is not just about students. It is the place for talent development on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, and so are people in the job market and the employees of CHILL itself. In this interview we speak with Sjors Lendertz, Talent Coordinator at CHILL. He supervises lateral entrants who want to retrain as process operator B for one of the plants on the Chemelot site.
Sjors Lendertz (26) has now been working at CHILL for three years, having started there as an intern. He advanced to Talent Coordinator and is responsible for supervising lateral entrants. 'We train professionals to become process operator B,' he explains. 'Due to the shortage on the labor market, these are increasingly people without a technical background who would like to make a start in the chemical industry.'
Personalia
- Who: Sjors Lendertz
- Age: 26 years old
- Birthplace: Beek
- Position: Talent Coordinator
- CHILLer since: 2021
Supervising older trainees, takes some getting used to!
Together with his colleagues in the Talent Office, Sjors is responsible for talent development in the workforce. This currently involves four programs: supporting companies on the site and campus with recruitment activities; a management traineeship for university graduates; a talent development program for young employees at Brightlands and the program for lateral entrants, in which Sjors is involved.
Sjors supports the trainees during their training program. So as a young employee, he often accompanies people of an older age. Isn't that awkward? He takes it lightly: 'I've gained the knowledge and experience by now and sometimes that's why trainees look up to me, but when I stood in front of the group for the first time I had to swallow!'
Expectation management: everyone on the same page?
In his role, Sjors has contact not only with the trainees, but also with the companies on the Chemelot site and with teachers from Vista College, who provide education on the Brightlands Campus. A diverse job, in other words. The Chemelot plants offer traineeships, but CHILL is the employer.', he says. This gives CHILL the responsibility to coordinate the talent development of the lateral entrants and make sure they are ready for practice.
This is not always easy. Sjors has to make sure that the parties involved - companies, teachers and trainees - stay well aligned. 'Every factory has its own expectations and sometimes the lateral entrants do not yet have basic knowledge. It is then up to us to make the companies aware of this,' he explains. 'Sometimes it's quite a challenge, getting all those heads together.'
The beauty of my work
The best thing about his job? For Sjors, that is without a doubt seeing success stories. 'When I see that the trainees are enjoying themselves and obtaining their diplomas, I really feel the satisfaction,' he says with a smile. 'We ensure that people with little technical knowledge can develop into full-fledged process operators, and that journey can be quite overwhelming for the participants.'
The trainees not only start with a new job and training, but also often work shifts for the first time. Many of them also have busy family lives. In short, they have a lot to deal with. So it's extra nice, thinks Sjors, if they still find the time and energy to take on this challenge! The trainees are grateful for the opportunity they get and often say: I wish I had done this earlier!
Plenty of new opportunities
As of October 1, Sjors will have a new position within CHILL. As People Support Officer, he will be responsible for HR matters, such as salary processing, contracts and onboarding of interns. 'CHILL continues to develop and so does my role,' he says. 'It's a dynamic environment, I'm very happy with that.' What his next career move will be, he doesn't know yet, but like his colleague Noa De Bruijn he has no doubt that something new will come his way at CHILL: 'There is a lot of room to shape your own function.' Smiling, he adds, "The position I get now didn't even exist when I came here.