Hundreds of thousands of croquettes and frikandels roll off the production line in Van Geloven's factories every day. The employees who produce these typical Dutch snacks are offered language courses by their employer, partly supported by the Tel mee met Taal subsidy. Training coordinator Willemien Kruithof explains how the snack manufacturer behind Van Dobben and Mora, among others, invests in the basic skills of its staff.

Why has Geloven chosen to offer language courses to their employees?
Willemien Kruithof: “Everyone we hire at Van Geloven speaks English or Dutch. This is also necessary to be able to work safely with the machines and to collaborate with colleagues. It is nice for integration in the workplace if everyone speaks Dutch, but it is not necessary. Yet we believe that as an employer we are responsible for employees’ development who do not speak the Dutch language. It is good for our employees’quality of life and integration. For that you need to learn Dutch.”

Does this personal development also benefit you as a company?
“If employees are happy and live comfortably in the Netherlands, that is of course to our advantage. It also helps to make everyone feel safe and secure in the workplace, that no one is left out. But learning to speak Dutch at a level that you can apply in your work is very difficult. Most employees will then have completed three or four courses over a number of years. That is of course not strange at all: if I go to live in Italy, it will take some time before I can come to terms with it in daily life.”

How are the courses received among staff?
“Our employees are happy that the training courses have been offered. We encourage participation in the courses, but it is not mandatory. That is why you see that the groups are very motivated. When I watch the lessons, it is nice to feel the willingness of people to learn and work hard. At the same time, we also see that some people have a very difficult time during the course. Make no mistake, the Dutch language is extremely difficult! Most Dutch people do not know all the complicated rules, they rely on intuition. That counts for me too."

A number of your branches have been granted a subsidy from “Tel mee met Taal” for the language courses. Was applying for the subsidy complicated?
“I didn't find the application complicated at all. Usually all kinds of difficult documents are required to apply for subsidies, but Tel mee met Taal's was clear. When we entered something incorrectly, we received a message about it. We were able to submit the applications for our five locations in the Netherlands ourselves.”

Have all the subsidies been assigned?
“Because the subsidy is popular, lots will be drawn among the applicants. We have been granted applications from two of the five locations. We have also chosen to offer training courses at the other locations, but to fund them ourselves. We will certainly register again for the 2024 subsidy in January. It is a wonderful tool and we see that it benefits our employees, but good training is expensive. The support is therefore very welcome.”