The most practical trainer in the Netherlands

For many years, Training Center Westpoort has been the reference for safety and mobility training for many infrastructure contractors. Within a radius of 30 kilometers from every major city in the Netherlands, our country's most practical training provider has a branch, open six or even seven days a week. On-site training is also no problem and can sometimes be arranged within a day. "This high degree of flexibility is appreciated," notes director Mark Hoogweg.

Training Center Westpoort originated from an employment agency in Amsterdam's Westpoort industrial area. "The temp agency focused exclusively on organizing extra 'hands' in the western port area," says Mark. "Because these people did not always have the right certificates, we were very concerned with training them quickly and adequately. And that's where things often went wrong. Trainers at the time were not really up to the task. They had no availability at short notice or charged sky-high rates, and sometimes a course was cancelled a day in advance due to lack of interest. In short, they did not excel in reliability. That was the reason we started Training Center Westpoort in 2011 with the same mindset as the employment agency: the customer is central."

Also on location

In nearly fifteen years, Training Center Westpoort has grown into a national service provider, including for infrastructure contractors. Training courses range from a DLP course for working in contaminated soil and training for working safely along roads to training for working with asbestos cement pipes. "And of course we also provide all the training courses for working safely with mobile equipment, such as a mini excavator and shovel, in addition to the regular training courses such as VCA and BHV that are also useful in your private situation," Mark adds. "What makes us very strong for infra-related companies is that we also provide on-site training, so that employees are trained with their own equipment. We do that seven days a week from Delfzijl to Maastricht. And beyond. For example, we recently gave a shovel course to various employees of a Dutch company who were working in Paris. No problem. We arrange it."

No peripheral issues

That high degree of flexibility is appreciated, especially in the infrastructure sector. "If it suddenly starts freezing, it is often impossible to work in the ground. So then a club of people stand still. How nice it is then to provide training precisely at those times. We respond to this proactively. Because of our current volume, we are able to switch almost immediately and set up a training course within a day. This happened recently for a large infrastructure contractor in the south of the country. Within a day we had two teachers on site," Mark gives as an example. "We are experts by experience and know from our past as an employment agency how to unburden entrepreneurs in a practical way. A deal is a deal. And a course always goes ahead. Moreover, the courses are tailored to the target group. We know that they are not at the forefront of training. That's why we keep it practical and our experienced instructors touch on good content. Peripheral issues they leave out." 

At Westpoort Training Center, Mark says you are guaranteed a thorough education by experienced teachers. "We have competitive rates and if you call now, you can often get in tomorrow. Even if a last name or date of birth is missing, we go after that and fix it." For some time now, Training Center Westpoort has also introduced various learning lines to teach people coming from another sector the necessary basic qualifications, specifically for working in infra. "We are happy to inform interested parties about the possibilities," Mark says in conclusion.