When you enter The Rise you are greeted with a smile and a friendly ‘good morning’ by the youngsters of Prins Heerlijk. One of the many tasks of this organisation is taking care of the company catering and they have been a part of The Rise since the opening of the building. Abgar van Rijswijk, teamleader Catering Industry & Retail, explains why The Rise is a suitable learning environment for the youngsters working at Prins Heerlijk.

Prins Heerlijk supports and guides young people who experience difficulty getting into the job market. Abgar: “We stand for more participation and development of youngsters with a disability, that is our primary mission and goal. To achieve this, we employ professionals who act as tutors whilst working together with the youngsters. Besides these tutors we also employ a team of teachers and behaviourists to enable further education and eventually help the youngsters to get a real job.’’

The ideal company to work and learn

Due to multiple recommendations and considerations, Prins Heerlijk started thinking of a future in The Rise. “We created a well-oiled cooperating mechanism in which we are able to offer high level company catering. The Rise is a great fit with us, because we employ youths in the catering business more and more often. All facilities in The Rise ensure our employees a vast and diverse list of tasks. Such as performing standard legionella controls, making sure the dressing rooms are in order and re-filling the coffee machines on each floor.”

Residents

The employees of Prins Heerlijk are bonding very well with the tenants of The Rise, and view them as residents. “Essentially we have undertaken fun activities with most residents of The Rise already. We take care of business gifts, Christmas gifts and when it’s someone’s birthday we bake them a cake. We can offer a lot of things. There are no silly questions, just fun cooperations. If our youngsters are able to learn or grow from it, we will not pass on the opportunity.”

Keep developing

The team of Prins Heerlijk has been located in The Rise for well over a year now and their new home exceeds all expectations. “The building radiates calmness, which offers plenty of room for our employees to develop. We are very lucky with the residents, who stimulate and communicate with our youths in the perfect manner. This results in a safe learning environment. We are determined to do things the right way, deliver the best quality possible and we want our employees to look well-groomed. The Rise fits all of these wishes, it is in fact one of the nicest meeting venues in Tilburg.”

A bright future

Abgar foresees a bright future when the covid restrictions are lifted. “I hope that our restaurant can be full of people again soon and that we are able to continue to work and learn. It would be amazing if we were able to employ twice as many youngsters and tutors because the more, the merrier. The Rise certainly has enough room for us. It would also be wonderful if more cooperations with the residents were created. These provide perfect opportunities for our employees to develop.”