JINC Boss of Tomorrow a success!

Equal opportunities in the workplace

This year, JINC Boss of Tomorrow was all about equal opportunities in the workplace. We asked Jessie the following question: what can we do as an organization to become more attractive to (new) colleagues with a different religious or cultural background?

Upon arrival, Jessie was symbolically given the chain of office by our mayor and a tour followed during which she was also introduced to our town clerk, Raph Stijns. During the day, Jessie met with several employees, including Harry Martens from human resources, to discuss the topic of diversity.

Jessie asked good questions that definitely got us thinking. For example, she asked, "What is the reason that when you order a pizza, you get a card immediately upon delivery that says, 'We're still looking for colleagues, call us!' and you don't see this at the municipality?"

Needless to say, it was an impressive day for Jessie. "I had no idea how many different people work at the municipality and that there are so many different jobs and tasks there. I learned a lot today!" said Jessie. 

Valuable advice

At the end of the day, Jessie presented her advice to our mayor and city clerk. She gave our municipality the following advice:

1. Make job postings more appealing and easier to read.
2. Make more use of social media to recruit people and show in a video, for example, that diversity among employees also exists within the municipality of Kerkrade.
3. Proactively visit schools and open days and perhaps organise an open day yourself as a municipality.
4. Form a working group of employees with various religious and cultural backgrounds to work on this subject of diversity within our organization.

Mayor Dassen: "I am really proud of Jessie on what she accomplished in one day and pleased with all the refreshing ideas she gave us. We are going to work on this. City Clerk Raph Stijns is also very appreciative of the advice Jessie provided. "Jessie has confirmed to us that we can be even more proactive in recruiting employees and need to show more of our municipality."

Youth Participation

Young people have the future. That is why the municipality of Kerkrade is actively pursuing youth participation. For example, Kerkrade has a Youth Advisory Council, of which Jessie is also a member, and recently also a Children's Council.

About JINC

JINC believes that every child deserves a fair chance at employment. This seems obvious, but it is not. Because unfortunately, those who grow up in neighborhoods with socioeconomic disadvantages still have less chance of making it far in the job market. No matter how smart he or she is. To combat this inequality, JINC organizes a dozen projects, of which "JINC Boss of Tomorrow" is the festive highlight.
Read more about JINC at www.JINC.nl