Wessel Giltay (22 years old) had big plans for a year of traveling after graduating in Civil Engineering. When the corona measures spoiled his gap year, he applied for a traineeship at Boskalis. “A fantastic choice and a kickstart for my career!”, he says.
Born in Weesp, Wessel has always been surrounded by water. Big water construction projects fascinated him. That’s why he chose to specialize in water management during his studies, where he quickly learned that Boskalis is the number one employer in his field of work. Wessel: “I’m not quite sure what my career in the world of water is going to look like yet, so a traineeship with three periods within different departments is ideal for me. This way, I can discover what I’m good at within Boskalis and which skills I want to develop.”
Wessel is currently involved in the IJsselwerken project at Boskalis Nederland. “We’re reinforcing 30 kilometers of embankment along the IJssel between Zwolle and Olst, to protect the inland from floods”, Wessel continues. “I’m currently working on risk management at the project control department. We’re still in the planning phase of the project, during which we identify all kinds of risks. Expired research or issues with grant applications, for instance. It’s up to us to control these risks by talking to the responsible parties, so they can take the right measures to minimize the risk. We frequently get together to talk about the current situation in so called risk sessions, of which I’ll be presenting the next one.”
It’s exactly these skills - like presenting and having critical conversations - that Wessel wants to work on. “I’ve set myself goals to get better at these type of things. And I’m already experiencing progress. For example, by now I’m tackling tough conversations by myself, which we used to do together. That’s what I love about being a trainee at Boskalis. If you indicate that you want to learn something, they give you all the space and help you need to succeed.”
I can really feel that I’m getting better at what I do at Boskalis!"
“I understand why traineeships are more popular than ever”, Wessel nods. “Besides all of the learning opportunities and coaching, it’s also great to get to know the other trainees. I already built up quite a network during the well-organized introduction weeks. And last but not least, I really like hearing about all of the sustainable innovations within Boskalis. Like the diversion of the IJssel dike at Paddenpol. To give nature the space it needs, the choice was made not just to reinforce the dike, but to completely move it. How amazing is that? After this first period, Wessel would like to gain some field experience, preferably abroad. “The opportunities at Boskalis are endless”, he concludes.
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