‘Working at Innovadis? ‘No fussing, and keep your word’

This article is part of a series called “Twente Leeft!” (Twente Lives!). You can read personal stories here about living and working in Twente. Twente is a nice place to be, according to the talents we meet. The beautiful nature, space, the down-to-earth mentality; they all characterise Twente. There are also plenty of career opportunities! Twente has many innovative, international and future-proof companies that are desperate for staff. Want to know what Twente has to offer? You can find Frank Willems's story below.

Projects that have a positive impact, freedom to work in your own way, celebrating your successes and the option to always have a good conversation. Jeroen Blomesath became a project leader at Innovadis in February of last year, and the working environment he encountered there made him feel completely at home. “We work on amazing assignments at Innovadis. We developed a platform for people in debt counselling, for example. They can receive help easily and quickly because of it. It is great that, as a company, we were able to contribute to a solution for this social problem”, he says.    

Commitment is one of the things that appeals to him, but that is not the only thing for Jeroen. “The atmosphere is good, the premises are beautiful, and I like the people who work there. For example, we work with clients to decide which solution best suits their organisation. And that is just one example. Another is that the Twente mentality suits me. I am from the Achterhoek originally, from Boekelo. The mentality of no fussing and keeping your word is the same. You should never call an Achterhoeker a Tukker or the other way around, but I don’t think there is a lot of difference other than that.”

His family and friends were another reason for Jeroen to return to Twente. “I studied Technical Business Administration in Enschede but graduated in Eindhoven. I worked at KPN in Groningen, also as a project manager. I loved it there; I wanted to work for a big company. I started looking for a job closer to my family and friends, so I ended up at Wehkamp in Zwolle; I was living in Deventer at the time. We moved to Twente when the kids were born (his daughter is now 16, and his sons are 14 and 12), and I started working in a laboratory in the region. I was more of a researcher there than working with the client to develop creative, appropriate internet solutions as I do here, so I started looking for another job.”

As mentioned, he found this job at Innovadis. “the great thing is that your job description is not set in stone at Innovadis. You have the freedom to fill in parts yourself, and you are asked to take on tasks if you want to. I dealt with the AVG and contracts, for example, because I also had experience with that at my previous employer. We also have fun outings and lunches, and the fringe benefits are great.”

He also loves Twente. “The atmosphere, the peace and quiet and the space suit me. I can do all the things I love here: mountain biking, playing tennis, having a beer with friends on a nice terrace, going on walks with the kids and the dog at ‘t Luttezand, for example, and visiting the FC Twente matches. There are many beautiful places here, which definitely includes the stadium for me.”

Twente is the ideal place to live and work, according to the talents we meet. Want to know why? Read personal stories about living and making a career in Twente on twente.com/twente-leeft. Want to look for a job immediately? Then take a look at our extensive job site.