'I feel very safe and comfortable here'

Ewoud Brummel (19) has been working at the Green & Environment department on the GGZ-Delft site since 2023. As a plant lover, he wants to learn all about working in the green. He does this in practice and in special courses.

Work is very important to Ewoud, he says: ‘You earn your own money, you have nice colleagues and you are busy. That’s how you develop yourself further and further.’ He likes to be among colleagues: ‘It’s very fun to form a team together, together you are strong. I feel very safe and comfortable here.

VCA course
Ewoud wants to get better at his work. First of all, he did the Plant Knowledge course, which is necessary if you work in the green. And recently he took the VCA Basic Course, which he successfully completed. ‘There you learn how to work safely and healthily with machines and devices, but also with hazardous substances such as gas, for example. You learn to use protective equipment, such as a gas mask or safety helmets and glasses.’ Ewoud now also knows all the so-called command signs: ‘There is a sticker on every machine that indicates what protection is required when you use the machine. You will also learn that at the VCA training.’ In the beginning he found it quite tough and did not understand much of the online information very well. ‘But once we started looking in practice, I understood it much better.’

Nice guidance
The guidance by Werkse! Likes Ewoud very much. ‘My supervisor Huub is a very nice and funny guy. I can ask him anything and then he gives me tips and tricks to do my job even better. And when I have to do something new that I still find difficult, he helps me overcome my insecurity. “If you don’t try, you never know if you can do it,” he says. So I try it and then it turns out that it just works. In the past as a child I didn’t like new food, I refused to eat it. Through my experiences at Werkse! I also dare to eat something new sooner. Isn’t that great!?’

More training
As mentioned, Ewoud wants to get better and better at his work. ‘I am now only allowed to work with the leaf blower, but I also want to be able to work with other devices. Later this year I will follow the mower training, so that I can also work with a mower. And later maybe also a training to work safely with the hedge trimmer. But everything in its time.’ He also tries to make himself meritorious in the green outside of work: ‘The other days I also helped my mother in our backyard to make the garden look beautiful. Very fun to do!’

Ewoud thinks obtaining diplomas is important, because you can show what skills you have. ‘I would like to become someone who can work well in the green, who can independently maintain an area, so that it looks good. Then I might also be outside Werkse in the future! Be able to get started. As long as it’s in the green, because I love plants.