After a four year break employeneur Tom de Koning has returned to his old nest at TMC Manufacturing Support. Although corona changed a lot, the atmosphere immediately felt familiar. According to Tom nothing is better than the freedom and versatility of TMC.

You often realise what you miss when it’s no longer available. Employeneur Tom de Koning (Manufacturing Support) experienced it first hand. He started at TMC in 2016, fresh out of his university study of Mechanical Engineering, and started right off the bat as a production engineer at Bosch in Tilburg. When his assignment ended after a year and a half Bosch offered him a permanent contract with promotion opportunities. The temptation loomed large and Tom decided to make the switch. “But when I left TMC I asked my business cell director whether there would still be a place for me if I wanted to return in the future. She said, ‘Absolutely, just call and we’ll find you something.’”

In the beginning Tom enjoyed his job at Bosch and he was quickly promoted to line engineer, where he was responsible for improving a production line. “It was a good move for my career,” he says, “but after three years my growth was stunted. I kept repeating the same things over and over.” His job satisfaction plummeted and Tom decided to resign.

Just before the pandemic broke out he called his old business cell director at TMC, asking if the offer was still on the table. It was. “I was able to discuss my wishes with TMC in great detail. I wanted to work four days instead of five because I also wanted to teach one day a week. Within two weeks they had four job openings for me to choose from. In proportion my wages have even increased.” He decided to start at TMC’s client Frencken Mechatronics, where he has worked for a year now.

Back to the basics

The connection with TMC immediately felt familiar, Tom says. Unfortunately corona spoiled some of the fun. “I was used to the pizza sessions and the Q-meetings where you have a drink together and build up your network, but all of a sudden it all stopped. There are online sessions now, but I miss the physical contact. That’s why I’m really looking forward to the time when we can get together again physically.”

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Fortunately he enjoys his job at Frencken a lot, where he works as a production engineer on the development of a new machine for ASML. “In my previous job I was mostly dealing with business management and I missed the touch of real engineering. Now there is a machine that needs to be built with all kinds of problems that have to be solved. It’s back to the basics, where my passion lies. At the same time it’s challenging, but I like challenges and take them up for the full hundred percent.”

In the beginning he noticed that his mechanical engineering skills had faded somewhat. Fortunately he could rely on his TMC colleagues for practical questions. “Several employeneurs have helped me refreshen my basic knowledge. Things like reading a Technical drawing, I hadn’t done that for three years.”

Perfect combination

Aside from his job as a mechanical engineer Tom also teaches at a local college one night a week, something he has been doing since four years. Teaching is another passion of his, he says. “It’s so fulfilling to see that switch flicking in someone’s head when they understand something.” Because he is moving house soon Tom will also be looking for a new school to teach at. He hopes TMC can assist him based on their hybrid teaching concept. Tom: “TMC is more focused on higher educated engineers, so perhaps I can start teaching classes to that higher educational bracket as well.”

The coming years Tom would like to keep working in engineering and broaden his knowledge. “The pizza sessions are perfect for that,” he says, “they deal with amazingly interesting subjects.” He also wants to keep teaching. Promotion is not a strong desire of his anymore. “I was focused on making promotion a lot in my previous job, because I wasn’t happy there. Now I’ve really found my place so I’m not thinking about it at all.”

When asked if he has any regrets about his four year absence from TMC, Tom answers with a resounding no. “I’ve learned a lot at Bosch that I would otherwise never have had the chance to. And I value what I have with TMC so much more now, like having my own coach, a development plan and a training budget.”

Again, sometimes you can only know what you miss when it has slipped away. That’s why Tom is so grateful that he now knows what it is he wants and needs. “I’m 32 years old and I’ve found the perfect combination for myself at TMC. I consider myself very lucky.”