'A real passion for this topic has developed and I get so much energy from this!'

A while ago, we were approached for a unique collaboration, namely with the Talent Acceleration Platform (TAP). TAP is a Dutch-Palestinian EdTech company. They enable talented young people in vulnerable parts of the MENA region to get a flying start on their careers remotely through educational programmes. In this interview with Maikel Veldhuis, Business unit manager at Adwise Academy, we tell you more about how the partnership came about and explain more about the programme.

After some e-mail traffic, we quickly scheduled an online meeting to meet and compare our expectations. Here, we also discussed the purpose of the traineeship and how the collaboration would go, but also what TAP was looking for in a partner and how we would fit into that picture. Because we were voted the best trainer in the Netherlands by #EMERCE this year, already provide a lot of training, have our own Learning Management System and also have a large network through parent company Adwise, all parties agreed that we could not let this opportunity pass. A physical meeting soon followed and we met for the first time in real life on 4 May at our office in Almelo, and here all contracts were also signed right away. Ready to go!

What are the main objectives you have set for this collaboration? 

Where we found each other right away is the shared opinion where we believe that everyone is entitled to a fair chance to build a career in digital marketing. "I think it's important to be socially engaged, which is why this topic appealed to me so much. "There has been a real passion for this topic and get a lot of energy from this."

We also said that if we were to enter into this collaboration, that we were really aiming for a long-term relationship in which we could keep building this track over the coming years. Right now, we are starting groups of about 18 students in September and November, totalling 36 students. The goal is to eventually scale up to about 11-12 groups a year, in which we can thus train 200 students. The traineeship currently takes place mainly in Palestine, but TAP also sees opportunities to expand to other Middle Eastern countries.

TAP already currently offers traineeships in web development and B2B tech sales. It was therefore also a logical next step to start developing a traineeship in the field of digital marketing.

During these eight weeks, students will write their own marketing plan, in which they will write out a different part each week. They will also present this marketing plan to a company.  

In this, we have partnered with a client of Adwise called Kabrita. Kabrita is part of parent company Ausnutria. The reason we chose this company is because they themselves have an office in the Middle East, so they are also more familiar with the culture. 

During the traineeship, we already start looking for possible internship companies in Europe, where the students will do a remote (remote) internship for two months. The ultimate goal is for these students to start working here after their traineeship.

What do you hope to achieve with this collaboration?

"In particular, we want to make a real impact!" said Maikel in all his enthusiasm. "They are very talented university students and by helping these students get jobs, they can also contribute to their own economy.' And that with the knowledge we impart to them!".

The Dutch government is also in favour of this project and therefore supports it. They think it is important that we can transfer knowledge to other countries, enabling them to optimize their economy in their own country. Due to the opportunities for meaningful employment and improved economic conditions, there is no necessity to emigrate to other European countries. In this way, we contribute to a better perspective and living conditions.

The start date for the first traineeship will be 6 September 2023. The next traineeship will start on 1 November. In those weeks, we will take you through who the students are, how they experience it and the experiences of our trainers. Stay tuned!

Do you have an internship or workplace for one of the very talented students? You can find more information about the remote traineeship on this page.