NAWJEEN MADE HIS MARK AS A FINANCE TRAINEE

Nawjeen

What inspires me to work at Boskalis?

According to Nawjeen Karim, “A Boskalis Traineeship really is the best way to kick-start your career. It’s crazy how much you can learn in just 18 months.” Nawjeen, 28, is now a Project Controller on the Port 2000 project in Le Havre, France. A Master of Finance graduate, he chose an adventurous international traineeship over a white-collar bank job – opening up a world of opportunity.

An international career
“I didn’t want to have a nine-to-five job like my friends from college, sitting all day in a suit and tie, surrounded by other financial folk. I preferred to get outside the office, go abroad, and be part of a diverse team,” says Nawjeen. “The Boskalis Traineeship was a great experience. My first project was on a major construction site in Asia, working with people from 20-30 nationalities and different professions – engineers, purchasers, surveyors and so on. I got to know the whole company. It gave me a great foundation.”

One of the few
A graduate of the Vrije Universiteit (VU), Amsterdam, Nawjeen has a Bachelor’s in Economics and Business Economics, and a Master’s in Finance. Throughout his traineeship, he worked in budget control, financial reporting, planning, and forecasting, both in Asia and at Fleet Management in Boskalis’ HQ in the Netherlands. He enjoyed both the teamwork and the experience of being one of only a few financial professionals working on site on a particular project. “It gives you a lot of responsibility,” he remarked. Nawjeen completed his traineeship in July 2021 and has since continued his career on two other Boskalis projects in France.

Turn risk into opportunity
To new financial graduates considering their options, Nawjeen has this to say: “Go and discover the world. The Boskalis Traineeship will give you a lot of challenges and responsibilities. Surround yourself with people who are different from you – you learn so much. Make sure you get outside your comfort zone. For financial professionals it’s fascinating to work in an environment with a lot of external macro-economic changes that impact the business. Turning risk into opportunity is a rewarding challenge”!