“At Werkse! I get the time to find my own pace”

Lejla Zukić (43) has a development job in the office at Werkse!. After an accident, she needed time to recover and had to adjust a bit to get back to work. “My tip: take the first step from welfare to work. You get a chance to find your way.”

Lejla came to the Netherlands at the age of 14. “We fled Bosnia and Herzegovina with our family. Then our life began here. I went to school and studied international business at HBO. I had side jobs and did an internship abroad. After this, I had jobs at companies in the Netherlands and Bosnia-Herzegovina. I kept traveling up and down between my two home countries, also because I wanted to help my grandfather and grandmother. They still lived in Bosnia-Herzegovina.”

First step forward
Because of those trips, Lejla came up with the idea of starting her own business. She wanted to organize trips for the Dutch to Bosnia-Herzegovina. “Unfortunately, that’s when the corona crisis began and the company did not become a success.” She also had an accident during that period. “That left me with permanent health complaints. I couldn’t work for a while and came to the assistance.” And that’s why she got an invitation to go to Werkse! To come. “Already at my first contact I fell in love with the organization. It’s so nice that everyone does their best to help people who are struggling to get to work a step forward. I’m glad I was able to start here in a development job. I now work four days a week for 26 hours and can stay until the end of July.”

Behind the computer
Lejla works at the company office. “Here in the office I do all kinds of administrative tasks. Such as sending invoices and checking working hours. I work at the computer and do a lot with Excel. I also learned to work with various programs, such as AFAS business software.” In the beginning she had to get used to it. “When I started I thought ‘give me all the tasks!’. Because I was used to doing a lot at the same time. But here it was said to take it easy and take time to learn things. And it’s good that I learned to find my own pace. Thanks to Werkse! I know I don’t want to go back to the way I used to work.”

Start small
Before Lejla started, she was at home for a while. “After my accident, I couldn’t think ahead. I was afraid, didn’t feel like it, was in therapy. I had stopped. But I found my way back. And to everyone in the welfare I want to say: try to do something at Werkse!. You have your whole life to learn. Of course you have to start small. So I gave myself a small task every day or I went for a walk. And I sought help from nice people around me. Then you can slowly think about work again, for example. So take the step, try to do something and achieve something.”

Helping people move forward
Lejla herself does everything to develop. “I did several trainings, such as Strong at Work. The nice thing is that we as participants really got to know each other and we keep in touch. We also went to organizations that offer work, which gives inspiration. I thought the care organization Pieter van Foreest was a nice company and would like to work with the elderly.” So Lejla is still figuring out what her dream job is. “In a next job I prefer to have more contact with people, I miss that now. I also like to work towards a goal, which is less in this job, the work always goes on. Although I studied business, I prefer a job where I help other people to progress. And that my work matters.”

Getting space
“If I could dream very wildly, I would do a Werkse! Want to establish in Bosnia and Herzegovina!” laughs Lejla. “There are so many people there who could use this help. But unfortunately that is not financially supported by the government.” In any case, she is happy with her development job. “It’s nice to be out of welfare and earn my own money. In addition, I get the opportunity to reorganize my life and develop myself. It’s nice to get that space!”

What is a development job?
In a development job at one of Werkse’s apprenticeship companies! People can quietly gain experience, learn and try out. The next step is a job with an employer. The total trajectory of a development job is a maximum of three years.

Photo: Alyssa van Heyst