You’re fresh out of school, extremely ambitious and you want to discover where your passion lies? Then our traineeship is just the thing for you!
Trainees at Bakker go through a two to three-year training programme in which every six months you get the opportunity to rotate through a department of your choice. Together we determine where your interests and talents lie and together we create a customised programme.
At the end of your traineeship you will specialise further in one of the departments or you will be given the opportunity to head up a large-scale project.
If you have successfully concluded your traineeship and both parties are enthusiastic about the collaboration, you will be invited to join the firm on a permanent basis in a function that suits your talents and interests.
Gregory and Mirre, two trainees who ended up being hired, are more than happy to share their experiences:
Mirre: “After my studies in International Management I enrolled in Bakker’s trainee programme. I really enjoyed my time as a trainee. Working in a different place every six months, you quickly get to know a variety of people so you can build a broad network within the organisation that you can fall back on. I started out in the Logistical Planning department in Belgium and one day a week I also worked on a project at Bakker Barendrecht in the Netherlands. Afterwards I also contributed to projects within Purchase and Operations. During the different rotations I noticed I took a particular interest in the topic of sustainability. As a start-up in Belgium there were plenty of opportunities to work on this theme. Before long it became my permanent, full-time position. At Bakker you have to be enterprising and grab your opportunities but as a trainee you are also supported by a dedicated member of management, who is also your mentor. During a monthly evaluation interview, you are challenged to step out of your comfort zone. A traineeship at Bakker was a very deliberate choice for me. It’s very important to me to know I’m working with a wholesome product.”
Gregory: “During my studies I did an internship at Agritech, a South African company where we helped growers adjust their cultivation results based on drone images. Bakker gave me the opportunity to delve deeper into the produce chain. Working with a fresh natural product requires expediency. This fosters dynamic work methods and I like that. I started my traineeship as Team Leader Production, the perfect department to hone your leadership skills and get a feel for the business processes. Heading a team, conducting bad news conversations and motivating your team to achieve results together are just a few of your responsibilities. In addition to the rotations in Business Control and IT, my main focus was on contributing to business development projects. In the second year of my traineeship I rotated to the Netherlands. There I joined a project team to develop innovative meal concepts and set up new product competencies. In August of 2023 I transitioned out as a project leader. Currently my main focus is on the Business & IT transformation the company will undergo in the coming years.”
Mirre: “Gregory and I started around the same time and we developed a great friendship throughout our time as a trainee. We frequently bounce ideas off each other, we’re on the same page. We still have good contacts with the other trainees as well, although not everyone has stayed. During our traineeship we saw each other on Mondays for a weekly start-up meeting where everyone shared their experiences and knowledge of the company.”
“And we regularly organised hackathon sessions on our own initiative”, Gregory adds. “We would analyse strategic issues from within the organisation and come up with a creative solution. Once every quarter we would then pitch these solutions to the MT. Management at Bakker is very approachable and they really take your knowledge seriously. That’s a motivating work environment!”