Gijs consciously chooses vocational education after his pre-university diploma

In an educational landscape where the transition from pre-university education (HAVO) to higher professional education (HBO) is often taken for granted, 22-year-old Gijs Vangerven from Valkenswaard made a different choice. "The idea that you automatically go to higher professional education (HBO) after HAVO is often seen as the norm. I believe that as a pre-university student, you shouldn't only look at follow-up programs at the HBO level. If a vocational (MBO) program seems more appealing to you, by all means go for MBO; those are good programs too!"

After graduating from high school, he naturally began a university of applied sciences program. "Logistics engineering. It turned out not to be my field of study. There were only a few things I found interesting. And some subjects were a lot harder than I'd anticipated; statistics and mathematics... And there were a lot of reports to write, which wasn't my thing at all."

Dog food factory

Gijs dropped out of college and looked for a temporary job. That temporary position—somewhat to his own surprise—ended up at Summa Engineering a year later. "I worked at a dog food factory in Steensel. I operated a machine there for a long time. Those sensors, the movements—I loved it. And when someone came by to program the machine, I thought: 'That looks interesting!'"

To the great relief of those around him, he cautiously started looking online for a new program. "I initially considered mechanical engineering, but I found that too mechanical."

Mix of everything

So mechanical engineering was out of the question. But with mechatronics, everything fell into place.Summa Engineering has the training Mechatronics technician. That fit. It's a mix of everything: mechanical, electrical, and a bit of programming. Very broad; that's what makes it so challenging!

With his HAVO diploma in hand, Gijs was able to enter the second year directly. "After the first year, students choose one of four specializations. I already knew I wanted to study mechatronics. So I got that gap year back."

Variety

Gijs is now in his third year. He's completed his second internship and is preparing for his final year. "Next school year, I'll go to school for another six months and then do my graduation internship." What he'll do after that is still completely open. "Because I'm getting a very broad education now, I can still go in any direction. I might specialize further, perhaps a two-year university of applied sciences program, or maybe I'll find a good graduation internship where I can start right away."

For companies eager to hire Gijs, he has another message: "It shouldn't be boring, monotonous work. I love variety."