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Wherever you are in your career: Maandag® helps you take the next step as an IT professional. That was also the experience of 61-year-old Sjaak Griffioen, who was offered a job at the Police Academy that suits him down to the ground. "Officers need to be strong in their shoes. With the latest technologies, I help them do that."
Sjaak Griffioen had a great time at the flower auction in Aalsmeer, where he worked as an Information Services consultant. Yet things started to itch when a recruiter from Maandag® approached him in 2019 asking if he had ears for a job at ROC Horizon College in Alkmaar. Sjaak: ‘It was about a vacancy for a functional management coordinator, combined with a role as an information services advisor. I really wanted that, while I also had a great job at the flower auction, but that job at Horizon College seemed even more fun. I also heard that Maandag® is a good employer. With my background as a functional administrator in secondary vocational education, I was very motivated, but I wanted the security of permanent employment. We agreed on that and I was able to start work.’
Dream job
Sjaak enjoyed working at Horizon College for two years. The end of his assignment was almost in sight when a new challenge presented itself. This time at the Police Academy, which provides training for the Dutch police. The academy was looking for an expert in Information provision, virtual reality & gaming. ‘A job where all my interests came together: education, computer science and gaming. So my dream job. Maandag® saw that this was tailor-made for me,’ says Sjaak, who in his spare time devises creative games for the business market (marketing , education and entertainment).
Warm employer with training opportunities
The Police Academy was keen to hire Sjaak and therefore accelerated the screening procedure. Sjaak: ‘It went so fast that I couldn't fit in my successor at Horizon College. But it would have been beyond my honour to let that slip. In consultation with all parties, I therefore started working two days a week at the Police Academy and stayed at Horizon College for another two days a week. Maandag® supervised that well. It's a nice, warm employer: they really pay attention to me. I can always contact them, or Maandag® takes the initiative. There is also room for my training needs. I wanted to know more about IT architecture. I could immediately use that in this assignment. I proposed a training course myself, which I was then allowed to take.’
The latest technologies for our security
At the Police Academy, Sjaak ensures that the technology behind virtual reality games has a place in the IT organisation. He also helps develop new applications. ‘I work in a nice team with a lot of young people. At least younger than me,’ he laughs. ‘But I am young at heart.’ In the digital games that Sjaak develops with his colleagues, aspiring officers practise with situations they might soon encounter on the street. Sjaak: ‘Agents need to be strong in their shoes, mentally resilient. We help them train these skills in virtual reality. For instance, there is a component in which you, as an agent, patrol a station with a colleague, wearing virtual reality glasses. You then have to discover what is not right. What do you do then? Do you confront someone? What do you say? And when do you search someone? With virtual reality, we can simulate all that. It is great to contribute to society in this way. With the latest technologies, I support the training of police officers and thus the safety of us all.’
Do you also have ambitions for a dream job in IT, like Sjaak? Or would you like to know more about other positions at Maandag®? Take a look at our vacancies, read more about secondment or contact one of our offices.