Wendley de la Paz

Wendley de la Paz (41) has been working as a Work & Participation Consultant at Werkse!. Before that he had a commercial career in marketing, but it did not give him the satisfaction he was looking for. A vacancy of Werkse! for a consultant brought a solution: 'With the life experience I had gained, I saw that I could really make a difference for people in this job.'

The vacancy really appealed to me. I saw the profile and knew immediately that this was what I wanted: as a "people person," it was a perfect fit. I've faced setbacks myself, similar to the headwinds my candidates face. I worked through those setbacks on my own, but I know how difficult it can be. Based on that life experience, I expected I could make a difference for these people. By showing them that there's always light at the end of the tunnel, even if you can't see it yourself. Sometimes you need someone to help you see that. I wanted to be that person.

The job posting didn't require any specific qualifications. It was primarily about personality, commitment, and motivation. It was a tough process: I had to pitch and conduct four interviews. But I made it!

Putting yourself in your power
Immediately after my appointment, I started the vocational training, supplemented with numerous internal and external training courses. Werkse! They're very proactive – they really empower you. Even if you're a training need yourself, that's possible. For example, I'll soon be starting a Creative Coaching course. But I'm also finding myself in this work. I'm learning to set my own boundaries and realize that not everyone can be helped the way I'd prefer.

Being part of society 
The best part of this work is helping people get out of their slump and into their power. I do this within a neighborhood-focused team that guides a group of approximately 600 candidates in the Buitenhof neighborhood toward employment or participation in some form. Werkse! is a company that truly cares about its target audience. Not by pushing people, but by responding to what they need to be a pleasant part of society. I fully support that.

Discover for yourself 
An example is the case of a candidate who wanted to start working as a self-employed taxi driver while receiving benefits. I quickly realized that wasn't feasible, but I didn't want to discourage him. I wanted him to discover for himself that it wasn't possible—you learn much more that way. I asked him to write a business plan for me. Shortly afterward, he informed me that he was abandoning his plan to become self-employed and opting for contract work. Great, now he'd accepted the challenge himself and was motivated to find a permanent job after all. He's now working on obtaining his taxi license through TOP Support Netherlands, the organization that can help him find a good job after obtaining his license. Everyone's happy!

Feel at home
I am very happy that Werkse! chose me, despite my irrelevant previous education. Of course, I was scared at first, because now I had to prove myself… From day one, Werkse! They reassured me and told me I could and should take the time to properly familiarize myself with the situation. It took a while to stick to that – coming from a competitive marketing world, of course – but I gradually managed it. I feel completely at home here now. I still have a lot to learn, and I'm fully committed to it.