Huisman Enschede – a unique career opportunity
The region of Twente in the east of the Netherlands has a long and proud history of entrepreneurship and innovation spanning centuries. This has led to the establishment of a Technical University in Enschede, as well as a keen focus on engineering subjects in local high schools.
As a result, Twente today enjoys international renown as an area of high technology. Literally, thousands of technologically-focused businesses call the area home, amongst them numerous innovative start-ups – all representing opportunity for Twente’s many highly skilled graduates in design, mechanical and structural engineering. It’s no wonder, says Huisman Lead Engineer Thijs Nieuwenhuis, that engineers don’t want to leave the area.
“That being the case,” Thijs explains, “Huisman had the idea ‘if the engineers of Twente won’t come to us, we will go them’.”
New beginnings
Two years ago, the company opened an office in Enschede in a bid to attract the local talent.
“It makes perfect sense,” states Thijs. “Nowadays with the digital connectivity we have, you can open an office anywhere. We use Teams and communicate with our Huisman colleagues in Schiedam all the time. This also helps us to contribute to Huisman’s sustainability goals. By working locally, we are reducing the amount of traffic on the roads – every little helps.”
Thanks to the ease with which our offices can collaborate, the team in the Enschede office are able to work together with their colleagues in Schiedam, as well as those in Czechia and China, on the same projects.
No other company like this
According to Thijs, the advantages of Huisman’s Twente location go both ways. As well as providing Huisman with an extended pool of highly skilled employees, it offers local engineers a unique employment experience.
“What makes us different in this region is that we work in the offshore industry. You will not find any other company like us in the region – most offshore companies are in the west. This gives people here the chance to contribute to engineering some of the largest, most complex, and interesting heavy lifting and construction equipment there is. And, with Schiedam close enough to visit regularly, they can also get to see the results of their work first-hand in the production facility.”
Ready for growth
Currently, Huisman’s operation in Enschede is quite small, with six full time employees, plus support from interns and graduates on placement. The organisation is, however, looking to grow.
“We’re always on the lookout for talented people. The vast majority of the people who come to work with us are fresh from university and bring with them fresh thinking and innovative ideas. As well as those from the usual engineering disciplines, we are also looking for specialists in hydraulics and electrics. With this, we hope to increase our scope in the future and participate in multi-disciplinary projects.”
If you would like to know more about opportunities at Huisman Enschede, or at our other locations, check out our vacancies or contact Ewelina Miller. Want to know more about Huisman? Visit our website.