Tim van de Steenoven

"Last year I attended a career fair because I wanted to find out what kind of graduate jobs were available in this sector. I had already heard of Bayards, but then I found out for the first time about the two-year Bayards Aluminium Technical Traineeship (BATT). When I was awarded my HBO degree in mechanical engineering, I contacted Bayards again and ultimately I was selected for the traineeship. What attracted me to this traineeship was the diversity. It highlights many different aspects of the work at Bayards. That way you get the chance to hang out with the technical team, but then half a year later you are working with the sales or project management teams. So you really get to know how to solve a problem from different perspectives or how you can best handle a challenge and that seems to me like a very smart way to learn.

In the first half year I am in the Engineering department, followed by the modules; Production Management, Project Management and Sales. Each module lasts half a year, so the coming months will focus on structural, mechanical and system engineering. For structural engineering, for example, I create models in STAAD, then I shadow my colleagues' work and support them where necessary. At the same time the more I do, the more skills I learn. I think it's great to work in the office, but I also like to go outside every now and then look at the products or roll up my sleeves and get involved. Thanks to all this variety you get to know all aspects of the company: in short, a fun but also very educational way to start my career."